Situation on Korean peninsula on the brink of conflict - Russian diplomat.

22/9 Tass 309

MOSCOW, September 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Tensions on the Korean peninsula
have reached a climax and might evolve into a conflict, a Russian deputy
foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"The situation on the Korean peninsula, a last relict of the 'cold
war,' might be a landmark of Russia's foreign policy in the region.
Political tensions in the region have reached the highest degree, further
- only conflict," Alexei Borodavkin told a roundtable meeting dedicated to
the situation in the region, "The Korean Peninsula: Challenges and
Possibilities for Russia."
According to the diplomat, the key task of Russia's foreign policy in
the region is to prevent a conflict between South Korea and the DPRK,
which has a nuclear potential posing threat not only to Seoul but also to
many other countries. "It should be stressed that the responsibility for
the situation in the region rests on both Koreas," he added.
Touching on what has caused the crisis on the Korean peninsula,
Borodavkin recalled North Korea's missile and nuclear tests in 2009 and
large-scale military drills South Korean armed forces are conducting
jointly with the United States. The Russian diplomat described the current
situation in the region as "the worst one in the past decade."
"Russia considers both North Korea and South Korea as states it seeks
to maintain good-neighbourly relations with. Russia is interested in
developing economic relations with these countries, primarily in the area
of power engineering and transport," he said. In his words, one of the
most promising projects is the construction of a railway that will be
linked with the Trans-Siberian railway. Such a railway, he said, will make
it possible to establish direct transport links between the East and the
West, between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Participants in the roundtable meeting, organized by the Russian
committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific,
heard a report analysing the political and economic situation in the
region and providing recommendations on ways out of the crisis with due
account of Russia's interests.
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