It is still too early to talk about a meeting of foreign
ministers of the six parties in the talks on the nuclear issue on
the Korean Peninsula, Russia's chief negotiator in the talks said
on Sunday.
"The idea that the foreign ministers of the six parties should
meet at a certain stage has been articulated. However, I believe it
is still too early to speak about that," Alexander Losyukov, who is
also deputy foreign minister, was quoted by the Interfax news
agency as saying.
"One must begin with the search for a common understanding of
the tasks and goals, as well as the readiness to achieve them,"
Losyukov said.
"Then, work must begin at the expert level and then gradually
move to a higher level, including the level of delegation heads or
foreign ministers," he said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the third
phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks will open on Feb. 8
in Beijing.
The six-party talks involve North Korea, China, Japan, Russia,
South Korea and the United States.
Russia has advocated "a comprehensive deal," rather than
"sporadic talks" on certain elements of the problem, Losyukov
said.
"A kind of 'roadmap' or action plan coordinated by all the
parties must be developed," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2007)
