Russia May Support US Resolution on N. Korea - Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia might support a draft resolution on North Korea, submitted by the United States to the UN Security Council, if the document stipulates cessation of Pyongyang's nuclear tests, Alexei Chepa, the deputy head of Russia's State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Sputnik on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the US mission to the UN announced that Washington would call a UN Security Council meeting on Monday to vote on a new draft resolution, set to tighten sanctions on North Korea.

"If this resolution concerns halting the nuclear tests, then, I think, we will back it. If this resolution concerns some kind of one-sided sanctions, which do not bring any results, and we will see it, then we can refrain from supporting such a resolution. Everything depends on the resolution, on the text that will be presented," Chepa said.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has escalated in recent months due to Pyongyang's missile launches and nuclear tests, all conducted in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

In June, Russia and China put forward a road map for the settlement of the North Korean crisis, the so-called double freeze plan, which provides for the simultaneous cessation of both North Korea's nuclear activity and the US-South Korean military exercises. The initiative has been rejected by the United States.

On August 5, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2371, which further tightens sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang's ballistic missiles tests conducted in late July. However, the restrictive measures failed to prevent North Korea from conducting further tests.

Last week, North Korea announced it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, triggering worldwide condemnation.

sputniknews.com