"Settlement of financial issues in relations between the U.S. and the DPRK would be of great importance for creating conditions to resume the talks," Sergei Lavrov told Kuwaiti news agency KUNA, referring to North Korea by its official acronym.
The talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program - which involve the two Koreas, the U.S., Japan, Russia, and China - stalled last November after Washington accused the reclusive regime of counterfeiting U.S. dollars and blocked its access to outside banks.
North Korea, which reported conducting a successful nuclear test on October 9, hinted earlier this week that it may be willing to sit back to the negotiating table if Washington agrees to drop the restrictions.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, now in Moscow to discuss UN sanctions on North Korea in the wake of the October 9 nuclear test, hailed Pyongyang's declared willingness to reengage in the talks, but said Washington's financial restrictions on Pyongyang would remain in place.
