Russia opposes militarization of Asia over North Korea: Lavrov
Russia is opposed to the militarization of Asia under the pretext of countering perceived threats from North Korea, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavov expressed Moscow’s concern about the matter in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, in Moscow on Friday.
He said the United States was not satisfied that Pyongyang had ceased its missile tests and was taking provocative measures to irritate Pyongyang.
He said Russia was worried that Japan was becoming a regional military base for its ally Washington, allowing the US military to strengthen its presence in the region.
Lavrov said US plans to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Japan would be a violation of US-Russia arms agreements.
The US and some of its regional allies are involved in a heated dispute with North Korea over Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
Russia had said on Thursday that Washington’s provocations aimed at Pyongyang were escalating the crisis into a global “catastrophe.”
In his meeting with Lavrov, Kono avoided the topic of North Korea, instead talking about a Pacific island dispute between Japan and Russia.
The two countries are at odds over territory in the Pacific Ocean, known as the Kurile Islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
He said he had asked his Russian counterpart to make efforts to lift travel restrictions to the islands.
Lavrov had said earlier that progress had been made on confidence-building measures related to the dispute.
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