Russian lawmaker believes denuclearization unattainable with N Korea sanctions in place
Moscow, Feb 28 (Sputnik) The United States is unlikely to achieve the ambitious goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula unless it lifts or at least eases sanctions against Pyongyang, Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy chair of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik on Thursday, following the US-North Korean summit in Hanoi.
After the summit, which concluded with no agreement signed, Trump said that the United States could not lift sanctions on Pyongyang since the latter had pledged to denuclearize only two areas, and not the ones that the United States wanted.
"North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un has, most likely, come to Hanoi for the sake of lifting or easing sanctions. Obviously, Trump has not promised to do it and is not going to make such promises," Dzhabarov said, stressing that denuclearization talks were unlikely to result in a specific agreement without sanctions being softened or removed.
Altogether Oleg Morozov, a member of the same committee, told Sputnik that he wondered how exactly North Korea could benefit from denuclearization, stressing that it had so far received only compliments from Washington but no specific guarantees.
While the White House praised the talks as "constructive," Trump told a press conference that he had "good relations" with Kim, praising the atmosphere at the talks as "friendly."
"At least, both sides want to show that it was a successful meeting. The question is: what guarantees will Pyongyang get in return for denuclearization? Verbal compliments are not guarantees yet," Morozov said.
He also suggested that the United States would not lift economic sanctions against Pyongyang anytime soon, stressing that no one was aware of the real situation in North Korean defense sector.
At their first historic summit, held in Singapore in June, Trump and Kim agreed that Pyongyang would make steps toward denuclearization in exchange for the potential removal of sanctions and the freezing of US and South Korean military drills.
Image: The White House Twitter page
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