05 May 2017

News Report: Lavrov - Military Attempts to Tackle N Korea Crisis 'Will Be Disastrous'

Russia's top diplomat has warned against resolving the North Korea crisis by means of violence.

PORVOO (Finland), (Sputnik) — Attempts to settle the situation around North Korea by military means will be disastrous, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"As for the nuclear problem of the Korean peninsula, we are convinced that there is only a political solution, any attempts to resolve the situation by military means will be disastrous," Lavrov said at a news conference after talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated as Pyongyang carried out a number of missile launches and nuclear tests in the recent months, which are considered to be in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

As a response to the potential use of nuclear weapons, the United States sent a strike group led by US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Korean Peninsula, where it began exercises with the South Korean navy.

US media reported that US President Donald Trump might order a strike against North Korea in light of its military activities. The North Korean top officials said the country was ready for nuclear attacks in case of possible US military aggression.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.