The Russian delegation, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister
Alexander Alexeyev, arrived in Beijing Monday morning to attend the
fourth round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear
issue.??
"We had no change in our stance," Alexeyev said after he touched
down at Beijing's Capital Airport.
The "package solution" to the nuclear issue Russia had proposed
had not lost its feasibility, he said.
The Russian government agrees in principle to provide North
Korea with energy aid, but the overall plan has not been finished,
he said.
Russia has proposed a package solution to the issue, that is, to
create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and provide security
guarantee for every country in the region, including North
Korea.
Before departure for Beijing, Alexeyev said in Moscow the
resumption of the six-party talks is "very important." Russia hoped
the talks could result in "substantial progress."
The fourth round of talks will begin at 9:00 AM Tuesday in the
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, involving China, the US, Russia, Japan,
South and North Korea. All the foreign delegations have arrived for
the talks.
The North Korean delegation, headed by Vice Foreign Minister Kim
Kye-gwan, and the South Korean delegation, led by Deputy Foreign
Minister Song Min-soon, arrived Friday afternoon and Saturday
morning respectively.
The US delegation, headed by Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Hill, arrived Sunday afternoon, and the Japanese
delegation, headed by Sasae Kenichiro, director-general of the
Foreign Ministry's Asia and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrived Sunday
evening.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2005)