BEIJING. Aug 25 (Interfax-China) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov thinks that the chances of reaching an agreement at the Beijing negotiations on the North Korean nuclear problem in late August are "very slim."
He stated this in Beijing on Monday before preliminary consultations began between the six participants in the negotiations.
"We have come here with cautious optimism. Alas, the odds that we will reach an agreement at this round of negotiations in Beijing are very slim. It is hardly possible to achieve progress at the first round of the negotiations," Losyukov said. There are differences in the participants' attitudes toward the negotiations, and some of the attitudes are firm. "Cautious optimism can be the only reaction to that," he stressed.
On Monday, Losyukov had consultations with Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
"It is very important to build up the process of negotiations so that it goes on," Losyukov said. "The goal is to reduce manifold positions of participants in the negotiations to the common denominator," he noted.