"President Putin has repeatedly spoke about the need for close cooperation of all interested parties in the interests of resolving the North Korean crisis. In this regard, the call to cooperate to solve this problem, which was voiced by the US president, certainly sounds at least in line with the consistent and well-known stance of our president," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated.
The statement came in response to a question, asking to comment the statement made by Donald Trump during the press conference with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, during which the US president said, "Time is quickly running out. We must act fast. And, hopefully, China will act faster and more effectively than anyone. I am also calling on Russia to help to rein in this potentially very tragic situation."
Response to Trump's Demand
Trump's call comes a day after he demanded that China and Russia downgrade diplomatic relations and cut economic ties with Pyongyang, prompting Beijing's response that it fully complies with its commitments with regard to the North Korean crisis. In its turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that Moscow had never supported a total embargo with regard to the DPRK and reiterated its call on all parties to consider the Russia-China "double freeze plan," which so far has been rejected by Washington.
According to the Moscow-Beijing proposal first announced in summer in the wake of unprecedented tensions amid Pyongyang's repeated missile launches and escalation of strong rhetoric between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, North Korea should stop conducting nuclear tests, while the US and South Korea should refrain from conducting joint drills in order to ease tensions.
In August, China decided to partially ban imports from North Korea after repeated calls by the US president, urging Beijing, the DPRK's largest trade partner, to put more pressure on Pyongyang. Trump has praised Beijing's efforts and called on Moscow to help him with regard to the settlement of the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
