Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday that imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear missile programme would be counter productive.
The Russian leader also said threats of military action
could trigger “a global catastrophe”.
Putin, speaking after a BRICs summit in China, criticised
U.S. diplomacy in the crisis and renewed his call for talks, saying Pyongyang
would not halt its missile testing programme until it felt secure.
“Russia condemns North Korea’s exercises, we consider that
they are a provocation … (But) ramping up military hysteria will lead to
nothing good. It could lead to a global catastrophe,” he said.
“There’s no other path apart from a peaceful one.’’
Putin was speaking after South Korea said an agreement with
the U.S. to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it respond to the
North Korea threat after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test
two days ago.
Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, has
repeatedly joined China in calling for negotiations with Pyongyang, suggesting
that the U.S. and South Korea halt all major war games in exchange for North
Korea halting its testing programme.
While describing additional sanctions as “the road to
nowhere”, Putin said Russia was prepared to discuss “some details” around the
issue, without elaborating.
Putin also lashed out at the U.S., saying it was
preposterous for Washington to ask for Moscow’s help with North Korea after
sanctioning Russian companies whom U.S. officials accused of violating North
Korea sanctions.
“It’s ridiculous to put us on the same sanctions list as
North Korea and then ask for our help in imposing sanctions on North Korea,”
said Putin.
“This is being done by people, who mix up Australia with
Austria,” he added.
The U.S. has floated the idea of requiring all countries to
cut economic links with North Korea to try to strong-arm Pyongyang into
changing its behaviour.
In Moscow’s case, that would mean stopping using North
Korean labourers, tens of thousands of whom work in Russia, and halting fuel
supplies to Pyongyang.
Russia has so far refused to contemplate doing either.
(NAN)
