Russia and China: talks with North Korea must resume

The foreign ministers of Beijing and Moscow say they want to resume the six-party talks with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has been meeting in Moscow with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, for the first time since North Korea said it would resume its nuclear enrichment program.

The ministers noted that Russia and China had similar views on the need to find a settlement, aimed at preserving stability in Northeast Asia, and to resume the six-party talks on the ‘denuclearization’ of the Korean peninsula. They have agreed to continue close consultations and interaction on this problem.

"We believe that preservation of the six nation negotiating mechanism, demilitarization of the Korean Peninsula, promotion of better relations between the sides, and peace and stability in East Asia would meet everyone's interests," said Yang Jiechi, as quoted by Interfax.

Earlier, the Russian FM and his South Korean counterpart, Yu Myung-Hwan, expressed their willingness to make more efforts to resume the six-party talks, Interfax reported on Monday.

Hu Jintao to visit Russia

Yang Jiechi also mentioned that Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, intended to visit Russia in June during the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The summit is scheduled for 15-16 June 2009.

The Russian FM mentioned that among other topics, they had covered such issues as Afghanistan, bringing peace to the Middle East, and future reforms.

Both sides said they had reached an understanding at the talks, and felt satisfied with the present state of affairs between China and Russia.

"We value interaction with China that is increasingly being transferred to the practical actions channel. The implementation of large-scale projects will help our states to endure the hardships that are consequences of the global financial crisis," Lavrov said, as quoted by ITAR-TASS.