Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday of a global catastrophe unless a diplomatic solution is reached over North Korea, but rejected US calls for more sanctions as “useless”, widening a split among
major powers over how to rein in Pyongyang.
Putin’s comments appeared to draw the lines for a clash at the United Nations pitting Moscow and Beijing against Washington and its allies. The US on Monday demanded the “strongest possible measures” against North Korea for detonating what Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on a missile.
The announcement dramatically upped the stakes in its standoff with the international community over its banned weapons programmes, which have seen it subjected to seven sets of UN Security Council sanctions so far.
As well as the US, South Korea and Japan, plus permanent Security Council members France and Britain, have called for stronger measures against it, with several arguing for a potentially crippling oil embargo. But Putin made clear that Russia was opposed to further interdictions, and while China — North Korea’s patron and closest political and economic partner — has yet to be drawn on the issue, it tends to resist placing pressure on Pyongyang.
Putin, speaking after an international gathering in China, said Russia condemned North Korea’s “provocative” actions. But he called
for dialogue and warned against other actions that could escalate the crisis.
“Resorting to just any sanctions in this situation is useless and inefficient,” he told reporters in the Chinese city of Xiamen following a summit of the five-nation BRICS club of emerging economies. “All of this can lead to a global planetary catastrophe and a great number of victims.”