MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Thursday that the US decision to add North Korea to its terror blacklist was a “PR move” that could allow the situation on the peninsula to escalate into a global “catastrophe.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called US President Donald Trump’s move to place North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism “another scaremongering act and PR move” that would not reduce tensions on the ground.
“The answer to the question whether such actions help in lessening the tensions is clear: no, they do not.”
“These sorts of actions push the situation (around North Korea) to the extreme, this can end with a big catastrophe not only of a regional but also of global scale,” Zakharova told journalists in Moscow.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the North Korea crisis with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono during his visit to Russia on Friday, Zakharova said.
“They will concentrate on bilateral relations but the international situation will be discussed, including the situation in the Korean peninsula as well as the Syrian question,” Zakharova said.
© Agence France-Presse
