Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko [Reuters]
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko [Reuters]

Russia has urged South Korea to halt its pressure campaign and sanctions against North Korea and take substantive steps to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued the call Wednesday local time, following a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko and Lee Seok-bae, South Korea's ambassador to Russia.

In a statement released after the meeting, the ministry said it had conveyed to Seoul "concerns that the ongoing confrontational military activities of South Korea and the United States near the border areas of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a whole."

It then urged the South Korean government to "abandon the policy of pressure and sanctions against Pyongyang and demonstrate its commitment to peace not only in words but through concrete actions."

The ministry also expressed regret that South Korea "openly aligns itself with Western anti-Russia pressure, including from the EU, despite the South Korean leadership repeatedly stating its desire to normalize relations with Moscow."

In a TASS interview in March, Rudenko was asked whether relations between Moscow and Seoul had changed since President Lee Jae Myung took office last June. He said the current South Korean administration's "rhetoric toward our country differs considerably from that of previous administrations."

He added, however, that "expressions of goodwill have value only when backed by specific and practical measures," and went on to say that South Korea "has shown no movement toward normalizing trade and economic relations, which hold considerable potential."


mokiya@heraldcorp.com