Vice-President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Kosachev says that Russia is awaiting the reaction of Seoul and Pyongyang to the offer to conduct negotiations in the organization's assembly.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow is awaiting responses from Seoul and Pyongyang to its offer to hold talks within the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) assembly in October, the organization's Vice-President Konstantin Kosachev said Monday.
"We would be glad if such contacts took place, as the IPU assembly sessions are the most comfortable place for informal meetings between the national delegations from any countries with conflicting relations… The idea has been voiced publicly, we are waiting for the reaction," Kosachev, who also holds the position of the chairman of the Russian upper house's Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
Kosachev added that "we of course cannot and will not impose our vision" on the sides to the Korean conflict.
Head of the Russian upper house Valentina Matvienko said on September 4 that Moscow was ready to facilitate a meeting between delegations from North and South Korea as part of the 137th Assembly, set to be held in St. Petersburg in October.
The tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been high over the recent months due to Pyongyang's repeated missile and nuclear tests on the one hand, and South Korea's joint military drills with the United States and deployment of the US weapons on its soil, on the other.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.