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Staff Reporter
Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladmir Putin could visit South Korea later this year, the Russian ambassador to Seoul said.
The G-20 Summit in November and celebrations of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Moscow in September could bring both President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin to Korea, Ambassador Konstantin V. Vnukov told reporters Friday.
It's certain that President Medvedev will be in Seoul for the G-20 Summit, he said.
Regarding Putin's visit, the ambassador said, "Putin was invited by Korea" as part of celebrations of the anniversary.
A final decision has yet to be made as it approaches, and foreign ministers of the two countries are supposed to meet in Seoul and Moscow to discuss that matter, he added.
The Korea-Russia diplomatic relationship is relatively young, only tracing back to the end of the Cold War. The two nations opened an official diplomatic channel in September 1990.
Ambassador Vnukov said the two potential visits would certainly add value to the already expanding bilateral relationship.
It gained momentum about two years ago when President Lee Myung-bak visited Moscow and had a summit with his Russian counterpart.
They agreed to elevate relations to a strategic partnership level, which, according to a Korean diplomat, means intensified dialogue and exchanges.
Ambassador Vnukov said the young relationship still has a lot of room to develop mutual understanding and interest.
Although trade volume has grown significantly over the years, "It should be much larger, given the close distance between the two countries and the interests that we share," he said.
"We don't know each other very well yet," thus this year's celebration will have a focus on diffusing each other's cultural elements, he said.
Among plans that are under preparation is a forum between top universities of the two countries.
St. Petersburg State University and Korea University will be the main hosts of the private forum, which will be held later this year. Details of the forum will be discussed, he said.
St. Petersburg State University and Korea University are where Presidents Medvedev and Lee studied, respectively.
North Korea has always been mentioned in South Korea-Russia relations.
Russia was the birthplace of the late Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea and father of incumbent leader Kim Jong-il, and North Korea had kept very close contact with Russia until the end of the Soviet Union era.
The ambassador said Russia would wholeheartedly welcome the summit between President Lee and North Korean leader Kim, if it happens.
Russia is also a member of the six-party talks, a negotiation process aiming to denuclearize North Korea and thus make a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
Ambassador Vnukov said Russia-led projects like the Trans-Siberian Railway and a gas pipeline project could be incentives for poverty-ridden North Korea, if it decides to scrap its nuclear program.
The Russian government considers the six-party denuclearization talks as the best option to get rid of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.
The ambassador, however, avoided answering the question of whether Russia had engaged in bilateral dialogue to convince the North Korean regime to come back to the negotiating table.
The ideas of railways and a pipeline were brainstormed nearly a decade ago, yet no progress has been made due to North Korea's dissent.
"These projects will be possible under the condition" that Pyongyang gives up its nuclear ambitions, he said.
Ambassador Konstantin V. Vnukov, 59, is an expert on China. Starting his diplomatic career during the Soviet Union era, he spent five years in China between 1980 and 1985. He returned to China in 1991 as a Russian diplomat, staying there for another five years. Between 1998 and 2003, he was the consul general of Russia in Hong Kong and Macau. Since 2003, the ambassador worked as deputy director general of the first Asian department at the Russian foreign ministry, and was sent to South Korea as an ambassador last October. He speaks English and Chinese fluently. |
skim@koreatimes.co.kr
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