MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow is looking at German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal with interest, but direct parallels between the situations are almost impossible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"Of course, we take these proposals with interest. A creative look and approach to the situation are very much in demand," Ryabkov said when asked how Moscow assessed Merkel's statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly warned against an escalation on the Korean Peninsula amid US President Donald Trump's war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month.
During her recent phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Merkel reaffirmed that the Korean peninsula crisis can only be resolved through negotiation. She also called for the resumption of talks between all sides involved in the conflict.
"But, saying this, I cannot but also say that complete and direct parallels between the two situations are probably already impossible, because the DPRK, unlike Iran, is a country that has already really mastered nuclear weapons technologies at least to a degree that allows Pyongyang to test nuclear explosive devices and move in the direction of constant improvement of delivery systems in the form of ballistic missiles," he said.
Iran's ballistic missile program does not demonstrate the results that North Korea has shown recently, Sergey Ryabkov stated.
"Iran's missile program, whatever the colleagues in the West say, is largely focused on the space industry, and the military missile and ballistic program and the development of this technology in Iran still did not demonstrate and does not demonstrate the results that the DPRK has recently shown," Ryabkov said.
He added that Moscow offers models to resolve the situation around the DPRK both jointly with partners, including South Korea, and independently.
"We, for our part, and together with the PRC, both alone and in contact with other colleagues, we are doing everything to offer some models of settlement. And depending on whether these models work, these proposals will be introduced into the dialogue and the political process, and depending on this, then, probably, the question of the optimal format will be solved," Ryabkov said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also stated that Moscow will welcome any proposals for settling the situation around North Korea, which do not result in sanctions and Pyongyang's response.
"In general, any proposals that do not reproduce this vicious logic of sanctions — Pyongyang's new provocative actions — counter-sanctions — the next provocative actions by the DPRK, any proposals that oppose to this logic something different, are very necessary and in demand," Ryabkov said assessing the prospects for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal about "transferring" the Iran talks experience onto North Korean settlement.
"From this point of view, we welcome them," he said.
