Moscow regrets that neither Washington nor Pyongyang is prepared to start negotiations with the other without preconditions, Deputy Foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov said. This prevents any progress in resolving the deteriorating crisis in the Korean Peninsula, potentially leading to an uncontrolled escalation, he explained. The minister called on both parties to end an “intimidation race”, saying this path leads to a dead end. “We have been warning against such an approach for a long time and insist that it is not simply counterproductive, but dangerous,” the Russian diplomat said.