BEIJING. Aug 25 (Interfax-China) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov believes that the chances of reaching an agreement at the Beijing negotiations on the North Korean nuclear problem in late August are "very slim." He made this statement 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 held 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.
"We will contact each participant before the negotiations start. That will help us compare positions. It is very important to do that before we begin negotiating," he stressed.
"The main goal of the negotiations is to eliminate the nuclear presence on the Korean Peninsula. Russia is striving for non-nuclear status on the peninsula. Other participants in the negotiations share this position," the deputy minister said.
"We think that the presence of nuclear armaments on the peninsula would be destabilizing and would not meet the interests of all regional countries," he said.
Russia's security guarantees for North Korea will also be a topic for discussion at the forthcoming meeting, Losyukov said.
"Such guarantees may be demanded or may not be. The negotiations will determine that. Anyway, we are ready to provide North Korea with such guarantees," the high-ranking diplomat said.
North Korea "has not taken in" Russia's guarantees, he noted. Nevertheless, guarantees may play a key role during certain phases of the negotiations.
Russia has a clear idea of North Korea's position regarding security guarantees, Losyukov said. China thinks alike, Losyukov stressed. "The attitudes of others vary," he noted.
The location of the meeting may be changed as the negotiations go on, the deputy minister said. "The negotiations may continue, say, in Moscow instead of Beijing," he said. Losyukov said that Russia had offered to hold the negotiations in Moscow. "Yet we do not intend to insist on that," he stressed.
The negotiations between North Korea, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia will start on Wednesday. They are expected to last for three days.
The Russian delegation was the first to arrive in Beijing. The delegations of South Korea, Japan and the United States are coming on Monday. The delegation of North Korea will arrive on Tuesday.
The negotiations will take place at the Guoji Hotel in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says that about 500 Chinese and foreign correspondents have been accredited to cover the negotiations. These include 7 Russian correspondents, about 200 correspondents from Japan, 60 from the United States and 60 from South Korea.