6 Oct 2017 18:35

U.S. plan to defuse tension with N. Korea can work only if includes reciprocal obligations - Kosachyov

MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - If Washington really has a plan to de-escalate tensions in its relations with Pyongyang, this can only be welcomed, but the United States should take on some obligations rather than just simply offer North Korea a dialogue, Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachyov said.

"It's only known from some echo in the media that there is some plan reportedly developed by the U.S. State Department to deescalate the conflict between Washington and Pyongyang, and Washington has not yet given any direct indications that such a plan is being prepared in principle and will be presented for discussion," Kosachyov told Interfax on Friday.

At the same time, "the very fact that Washington is thinking not only about military operations against the DPRK but also about plans to settle the problem peacefully can certainly be only welcomed," Kosachyov said.

"I would say: let them put any plan on the table, for this is much better than trading threats, which is what the so-called dialogue between the U.S. and the DPRK has turned into now," he said.

Media reported earlier that the U.S. Department of State had developed a plan to deescalate tensions in relations with Pyongyang, which implies that North Korea would freeze its nuclear missile tests for at least two months, in exchange for U.S. consent to begin direct dialogue with the DPRK.

Kosachyov suggested that, if this plan does imply that North Korea would freeze its nuclear missile tests for at least two months in exchange of the U.S. consent to hold direct dialogue with it, this plan can hardly be viewed as realistic.

"Because a settlement roadmap having chances for success should envision the parties' reciprocal steps toward deescalating the conflict, for example, the 'double freezing' plan proposed by China and Russia. If Washington does not have any obligations to end its own military activity in the region, its courteous consent to talk with Pyongyang is unlikely to look appealing to the latter," he said.