Russia draws red line in relations with South Korea

Báo Dân tríBáo Dân trí19/01/2024


Nga vạch lằn ranh đỏ trong mối quan hệ với Hàn Quốc - 1

South Korean soldiers (Photo: Reuters).

"We are ready to consider South Korea as a promising partner as long as it does not cross the red line we have drawn about directly supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine. As long as South Korea does not cross that red line, we do not consider there to be any serious damage to bilateral relations," Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinovyev stressed on January 19.

Last month, the US newspaper Washington Post quoted informed sources as saying that South Korea had indirectly supplied more 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine than all European countries combined.

"We know that South Korea exports a large amount of military products. However, the South Korean side informed us that such exports are in full compliance with international trade rules and that the end users do not include Ukraine," Zinovyev said.

He stressed that Moscow was “serious” about Seoul’s assurances that its overseas arms supplies were being directed to end users other than Ukraine.

"We urge our South Korean partners to seriously implement the assurances. As a responsible member of the international community, we also respect the existing constraints in our relations with North Korea. We do not base our policy on so-called radio diplomacy or media but on reality," he said.

For many years, South Korea has maintained a policy of opposing arms supplies to countries in conflict. Seoul has repeatedly said that this makes it difficult to directly supply weapons to Ukraine.

South Korea has backed US-led sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia over its military campaign in Ukraine. Seoul has also sent humanitarian aid to Kiev and signed major arms deals to sell tanks and artillery to Ukraine’s ally Poland.

However, South Korea has so far avoided escalating tensions with Russia due to the many South Korean companies operating in Russia, as well as Moscow's influence over North Korea.



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