C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 012200

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2016
TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP KN RS
SUBJECT: MOSCOW WELCOMES ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESUMPTION OF
SIX-PARTY TALKS


Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns: 1.4 (b,d).


1. (U) The Russian government welcomed the agreement to
resume the Six-Party talks. Russian officials, including
Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, Security Council Secretary
Igor Ivanov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Alekseyev
accepted the announcement as "exceedingly positive."
Alekseyev stressed publicly that the Russian authorities were
aware of the trilateral informal meeting in Beijing and
praised China for "arranging" the meeting.


2. (C) DFM Alekseyev told Ambassador November 2 that he was
very encouraged by the DPRK decision to come back to the
talks, although he recognized that the discussions themselves
would be a hard slog. He welcomed the opportunity to consult
with the U.S. on next steps. He added that he would be in
Beijing November 8-10 with PM Fradkov, and might also see a
DPRK representative while in China.


3. (C) Oleg Davydov, an MFA Senior Counselor advising DFM
Alekseyev on Korean matters, told us that the GOR's Korea
watchers did not know the specifics of the Beijing informal
meeting. In view of differing interpretations from capitals,
the GOR would offer further reaction only after concrete
details from the meeting were known. Immediately after the
announcement, the MFA website posted a statement welcoming
the decision and reiterating the GOR's position: "Russia
supports the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula through
political and diplomatic means, with the participation of all
interested states, and is ready to contribute to the swiftest
resumption of the Six-Party process."


4. (C) Senior government officials emphasized publicly that
the talks should resume as soon as possible and indicated
that Russia would be an active participant. Sergey Ivanov
hinted that the talks would restart before the end of this
year and most likely take place in China. Oleg Davydov
confirmed to us Russia's readiness to participate and to
exert a "positive" influence whenever possible during the
negotiation process.


5. (C) Comment: Despite President Putin's criticism of
U.S. diplomacy towards North Korea in an October 25 public
appearance, GOR praise for the U.S. and PRC-engineered
diplomatic turn of events has been straightforward. DFM
Alekseyev in particular is ready to coordinate closely on
next steps.
BURNS