21 Feb 2018 14:26

U.S.' uncompromising attitude won't help in Korea crisis - Kosachyov

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - The uncompromising attitude of the United States proves that it was hoping for the failure of the meeting with North Korean representatives in PyeongChang, the Chairman of the Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachyov, said in response to a recent statement by the U.S. Department of State.

"Of course, one can only regret that the planned meeting between the North Korean delegation and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, which hypothetically could have been the biggest 'victory' at the Olympic Games in South Korea, was never held. But when you look at the statements made by the Americans on this issue, you get the impression that they were much more interested in disrupting the meeting than in holding it," Kosachyov told Interfax on Wednesday.

"According to U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert, the U.S. intended to use the meeting to 'force North Korea to renounce ballistic missiles and the nuclear program,' while the U.S. vice president mentioned 'the strictest and most aggressive' sanctions against Pyongyang in his remarks," Kosachyov said.

"Now the Department of State is hypocritically lamenting that the North Koreans 'have missed this opportunity,' Which opportunity? Was it an opportunity to listen to the 'iron-clad' stance of the United States, which is known to the entire world? Have they missed a chance to experience American pressure?" Kosachyov said.

It is disappointing that the meeting was not held, but one can hardly expect to make much headway, "considering that the U.S. rejected negotiations and compromises from the start and relied on its customary manner of monologue and lecturing," he said.

"It's another thing that the very fact of the meeting would have been highly significant for the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula, just like the Olympic Games' attendance by a high-ranking North Korean delegation. Alas, this chance has been missed, but one can hardly put the whole blame on the North Koreans, whose formal refusal prevented the meeting from happening," Kosachyov said.