Putin Rejects Cutting Off Oil to North KoreaBy CHOE SANG-HUN SEPT. 6, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/asia/north-korea-putin-oil-embargo.htmlSEOUL, South Korea — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said his country opposed cutting off oil supplies to North Korea as part of new sanctions being considered in the wake of the country’s latest nuclear test, according to official accounts of his meeting Wednesday with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.
The United States and its allies are pushing for a global embargo on oil exports to North Korea as the United Nations Security Council debates a new round of sanctions against the North. Russia has veto power over any such Security Council sanctions.
North Korea has been getting most of its oil from China. But it has been trying to increase imports from Russia as an alternative source of energy for its military, as well as for its decrepit industries, amid signs that Beijing is growing impatient with the North’s nuclear adventurism, South Korean analysts said.
During a meeting on the sidelines of an economic summit conference in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok on Wednesday, Mr. Moon asked Mr. Putin to support the proposed oil embargo. But Mr. Putin said that sanctions and pressure would not persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, said Yoon Young-chan, a spokesman for Mr. Moon.
[...]
“Without political and diplomatic tools, it is impossible to make headway in the current situation; to be more precise, it is impossible,” Mr. Putin said during a joint news conference with Mr. Moon.
Despite his opposition to cutting off oil exports, Mr. Putin said North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests were a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions.
But “we should not act out of emotions and push North Korea into a dead end,” Mr. Putin said, according to dispatches from South Korean reporters. “We must act with calm and avoid steps that could raise tensions.”
[...]
Excerpt.
