Alexander Losyukov, chief Russian negotiator, arrived in Beijing
on Sunday morning for the upcoming six-party talks on the Korean
Peninsula nuclear issue.
Losyukov, who is Russia's deputy foreign minister, is to attend
the sixth round of the six-party talks scheduled to open on March
19.
Before leaving for Beijing, Losyukov told reporters that he was
"cautiously optimistic" about the new round of six-party talks.
Hoping that the sixth round of talks could "move smoothly", he
said it will be a complicated process for all parties to coordinate
their positions and that there may be many unpredictable
difficulties.
According to Losyukov, the Russian government is considering to
offer extra assistance to North Korea, which "needs more time for
further negotiations".
He appreciated the provision of 50,000 tons of heavy oil for
North Korea by South Korea as part of the initial steps to realize
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
All parties could make further efforts toward this direction,
said Losyukov.
Losyukov said that the major mission for the sixth round of the
six-party talks is to monitor the implementation of the Feb. 13
joint document reached during the third phase of the fifth round of
six-party talks held last month.
So this round of talks may end in a shorter time, he said.
Losyukov attended the first and second rounds of six-party talks
as well as the third phase of the fifth round of talks as chief
negotiator of Russia.
(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2007)
