MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - The worsening situation on the Korean Peninsula is leading Russian agencies to plan for worst-case scenarios and take preventive measures to defend its national interests, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Interfax on Friday.
"As a result of the U.S. and DPRK's positions, which do not facilitate the beginning of negotiations, the crisis on the Korean Peninsula continues to exacerbate and is approaching a line beyond which an uncontrolled reaction is possible. In our view, this is fraught with great danger," Losyukov said.
In this situation, "we have to think of preventive measures to defend our interests and, speaking frankly, to defend our population in territories contiguous to Korea in case of a serious conflict in that region," he said.
"The Russian leadership has given instructions to relevant agencies on this matter," Losyukov said.
"Russia's efforts are aimed precisely at preventing a worst- case scenario," he said.
"This is why we are upset about the absence of a negotiating process, which would, first, freeze the drift towards the worst option, and second, help find a solution to the problem. I believe there are opportunities for such solutions," he said.
"We are disappointed and surprised by the position of some participants in the conflict, who do not seem to want to seriously address the problem through negotiations," Losyukov said.