Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s interview to the Russian news agency

ITAR-TASS and South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo

(September 2010)

QUESTION: Russia and the Republic of Korea are celebrating the 20^th anniversary of diplomatic relations. How do you assess the current state of relations between our two countries?

ANSWER: The 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations is an important milestone, which allows one to summarize the main results achieved on the path our countries have walked together, and to identify benchmarks for the future.

I note with satisfaction that we have accomplished a tremendous amount of work for the development of bilateral relations. Having starting virtually from the zero mark, we have exerted joint efforts to build a solid framework of fruitful interaction meeting the national interests of both countries.

Over the recent years we made a long stride from multi-faceted cooperation and trust to strategic partnership, which reflects a high degree of maturity of our relationship. The agenda of the Russian-Korean dialogue at all levels, including the top one, has taken a rather clear shape. It contains a long list of topics in foreign policy, trade, economy, humanitarian and other spheres. This is largely owed to the fact that between our countries there exist no intractable political problems or artificial constraints that would inhibit the development of relations.

Naturally, at each stage of building up co-operation there arise certain difficulties. However, today we have mechanisms that allow us not only to raise specific issues, but also to address them. It is important the leaders of Russia and the Republic of Korea meet regularly and exchange messages, which, of course, stimulates the strengthening of mutual trust, and promotes the expansion of horizons for cooperation.

Q: What, in your opinion, is the most successful example of Russian-South Korean cooperation? What do you see as not very successful and what, in your opinion, is the reason for this?

A: I believe that our countries can take pride in many things. We conduct a mutually beneficial dialogue on such issues as regional security and peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the modernization of the economy, energy security, climate change, crisis management policies and reform of the global financial system. The importance of bilateral cooperation within the Group of Twenty has been growing, and the proximity of our countries' positions on the issues being discussed in this format is a contributing factor to this. We like the original approach of the Korean partners to organizing this forum’s activities, which implies a tight peg between the meetings of state and government leaders and the dialogue between business communities.

Economic and trading cooperation between our countries deserves special attention. Trade has been developing rapidly to have exceeded 18 billion dollars in 2008. Of course, the effects of the global financial crisis made themselves felt: the trade turnover declined by more than 40 percent last year. But there has developed a turn for the better already - in the first half of this year the trade turnover increased again by 1.8 times.

The conclusion is obvious: the current model of trading and economic cooperation cannot provide the necessary stability, especially in the context of severe fluctuations in world market conditions. An important clue to stable and steady growth of bilateral trade is the diversification of its structure. In particular, this applies to the need to reduce the share of commodities in the Russian export and to increase the share of high technology products. Although we are still interested in the Republic of Korea as a long-term importer of hydrocarbons, including LNG from the Sakhalin-2 project and other joint programs, the emphasis on the fuel-energy component in the trade should be adjusted.

It is encouraging that the South Korean companies have shown keen interest in direct investments not only into mining, but also into the manufacturing sector of the Russian economy. As a fresh example of such cooperation I can point to the Hyundai Motor plant, which opened in St. Petersburg on September 21 to have become the first full cycle enterprise of a foreign automobile company in the territory of the Russian Federation.

In general, Russia and the Republic of Korea have a vast potential for the further development of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Q: In 2008, at the summit of Comprehensive Partnership and Mutual Trust, Russia and South Korea declared they had achieved strategic partnership. What, do you think, has been accomplished over the past two years? What is your assessment of these developments, what are the prospects?

A: I believe I have already answered part of this question already.

In addition would like to say that in accordance with the agreements reached between the leaders of our countries at the summit in 2008, we have been exerting reciprocal efforts with the aim to bring our relationship to a level of strategic partnership. The leaders of our states meet annually. In particular, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited Yaroslavl in September to attend the World Policy Forum. He met with Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. In November, the President of the Russian Federation will pay his first official visit to the Republic of Korea and take part in the summit of the Group of Twenty in Seoul.

Specific results and future plans are discussed in the course of the regular strategic dialogue at the level of first deputy foreign ministers of Russia and the Republic of Korea, the next round of which took place in Moscow in March this year.

Q: A certain part of South Korean society has the opinion the degree of "warmth" in relations between Russia and South Korea dropped somewhat lately. There has been talk about a lack of communication between the two countries. What is your opinion? Will the agreement to hold annual talks between Russia and South Korea alternately in either country change the situation?

A: I believe that the suspicion of some kind of cooling in the Russian-South Korean relations is unfounded. First of all, this assumption is refuted by the busy schedule of contacts between the two countries' presidents. In addition, we interact at all levels.

There have been meetings between representatives of the foreign ministries and other departments, within the framework of the intergovernmental commission on trading-economic and scientific-technical cooperation, as well as between delegates from the general public. This year will see the launch of a dialogue between civil societies – there will be the Russian-Korean forum The Russia-Republic of Korea Dialogue, initiated by the St. Petersburg State University and Korea University. The ongoing cultural festivals in Russia and the Republic of Korea will let the people of our countries get acquainted with the best samples of national art, which is important for the further rapprochement between Russia and the Republic of Korea.

Q: Russian specialists have conducted their own investigation into the loss of the South Korean corvette The Cheonan, but Russia has not announced its clear position on the Russian experts’ findings yet. Does Russia believe it was not an operation by North Korea? Why?

A: We believe that first and foremost it is necessary to abandon attempts to impose on the international community this or that one-sided interpretation of the UN Security Council President’s statement regarding The Cheonan affair, including attempts to use for this purpose the findings of Russian experts, which have not been published formally, and which were not intended for publication. Our experts visited the Republic of Korea to see the results of the investigation in accordance with the proposal made by President Lee Myung-bak to President Dmitry Medvedev, and their estimates were intended solely for informing the Russian leadership. As for the credibility of all sorts of "leaks", they shall remain a matter of conscience of the respective news agencies.

We proceed from the understanding that formally the question of the corvette The Cheonan was removed from the international agenda after the consensus statement by the President of the Security Council on July 9 this year. At his recent meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak expressed his gratitude for Russia’s important role and assistance in the discussion of this issue within the UN.

Of course, the loss of that warship, which claimed the lives of 46 sailors was a tragedy that is not easy to forget. But, as we see it, one must look ahead, think about how to emerge from the situation, how to prevent a full-scale political and military crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Q: After the Cheonan crisis relations between South Korea and the United States of America, on one hand, and North Korea and China, on the other, grew more complicated. What, in your opinion, can Russia do to promote a dialogue and strengthen stability in that region of the world, and what does it expect of the other parties?

A: Time is ripe for getting down to substantive work to design regional mechanisms that will allow for promptly settling such incidents, if not eliminating their risk altogether, and for doing so without involving the international community into the dispute and without resorting to confrontational actions.

Russia as one of the architects of the modern structures of international security has considerable experience in this field. By the way, that experience was embodied in the six-party talks, which under the Russian presidency produced useful ideas for the establishment of a peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia. The sooner we can continue to work on it - in the context of the resumption of six-party process as a whole - the better for all parties.

Q: Do you regard as still viable the six-party talks on the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and why? What is the outlook for the resumption of these negotiations and whether something new should be introduced into their basis for achieving this goal?

A: True, quite a lot of fair criticism is voiced in relation to the six-party talks these days. But we believe it would be wrong to completely ignore the usefulness and effectiveness of negotiations in this format.

We must not forget that in the second half of 2008 we were very close to a systemic result - complete shutdown of the nuclear center at Yongbyon – the citadel of the DPRK's nuclear arms program. I will not discuss at this point why we failed to make the last step and through whose fault. The main thing is that the sextet was not futile by all means, and the gained experience, including negative experience, allows for avoiding a repetition of mistakes and for continuing negotiations with greater efficiency. The key prerequisite is all parties must unconditionally confirm their readiness to act on their obligations under the basic document of six-party talks - the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005.

One can feel satisfaction over the fact all parties to the negotiations not only invariably confirm their interest in resuming them, but also conduct intensive consultations among themselves, in which Russia is actively involved. Therefore, sooner or later, we shall be able to return to the negotiating table.

Q: Korea understands the importance of cooperation with Russia in the development of a new diplomacy in the Far East, and of creating an economic community on the Korean Peninsula. What, in your opinion, could lend positive dynamics to such cooperation?

A: The development of mutually beneficial partnerships with both countries on the Korean Peninsula, including those in the trading and economic sphere, is among the priorities of Russian diplomacy in the Asian sector.

Russia is interested in implementing such large-scale economic projects with the Republic of Korea and the DPRK as connection of railways of the South and the North of Korea to the Trans-Siberian Railway, the laying of a pipeline to deliver Russian gas to South Korea, and a high-voltage power line through the territory of the DPRK.

We have taken the first step in this direction, we started the pilot project Hasan-Rajin, crucial to the implementation of an ambitious program for creating a Euro-Asian railway corridor. The success of the smaller project for an intermodal freight container terminal in the North Korean port of Rajin will be possible only when South Korean companies are plugged into it with their investments and the necessary cargo base is provided. As long as there are no goods from the Republic of Korea that could be sent via the Trans-Siberian railway to Europe, this project will have practically no chances to succeed.

Cooperation is already underway on the energy project: Russian and South Korean companies have signed an agreement on joint research into a project for gas supply from Russian Federation to the Republic of Korea. Along with an option of laying a gas pipeline from the Russian border through the northern part of the Korean Peninsula the possibility is being studied of transporting natural gas in liquefied form from the area of Vladivostok.

We are all perfectly aware that the promotion of these multilateral projects would help reduce confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and promote a dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul.

Q: At the summit, Russia and South Korea achieved understanding of the need for interaction in implementing a development strategy for Siberia and the Far East, including a new Silk Road (energy, railways, the ecological development). What has been done in this direction so far, what are the hindrances and prospects?

A: We link the deepening of economic cooperation with the Republic of Korea with the task of Russia’s active involvement in the integration processes in the Asia-Pacific Region and socio-economic upturn in the regions of Siberia and Russia’s Far East in the light of the strategy for the socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region until 2025. There has been drafted a large list of regional projects (there are over 300 of them), in which the Russian side would like to see South Korean companies as active partners. The presentation of the list was held at the recent meeting of the Committee for the Far East and Siberia of the joint Russian-Korean commission on trading, economic and scientific cooperation on the sidelines of the Baikal Economic Forum in Irkutsk.

We believe that the establishment of oil and gas chemical complexes and the launch of facilities for the production and subsequent export of liquefied natural gas in the Primorsky Territory would be no less beneficial for the Republic of Korea.

The most important priority for us today is the implementation of the country’s comprehensive modernization. In this context, Russia takes great interest in the South Korean experience of rapid industrialization and the subsequent smooth transition onto the track of innovative development. The Republic of Korea’s initiatives in the environmental field, including the "green growth" program, and energy conservation deserve serious attention. We are ready to work closely with Korean partners along these lines.

Q: Before the APEC summit, due in 2012 in Vladivostok, Russia’s Primorye Territory is experiencing a period of economic boom, which is widely perceived as real progress towards becoming a financial and trading center in that region. Many Korean companies take part in the competition for participation in building projects. Does Russia want to see the participation of South Korea, and what sort of investments can be regarded as promising in this respect?

A: The Forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2012 under Russia's chairmanship is a task of paramount importance for us. We are interested in cooperation with South Korean partners, who have extensive experience in the organization of APEC activities. The Republic of Korea twice chaired that forum.

At this stage, our efforts are focused on creating the infrastructures necessary for the summit. Work is in progress related to the construction of 50 comprehensive facilities, of which the largest are the Far Eastern Federal University, the building of a conference center, a cargo terminal on the Russky Island, and bridges across the Bosfor Vostochny strait and the Golden Horn Bay, and the Knevichi airport. We welcome the interest of foreign companies, including those from the Republic of Korea, in joining the construction of infrastructures for the 2012 APEC summit.

The APEC presidency is not only an honor but also an enormous burden. At the same time it is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the potential of Siberia and the Far East, attract partners into the work on their development, and make a tangible request for Russia’s full-fledged participation in the mechanisms of regional economic integration on a wide range of issues, including cooperation in high-tech areas. And we shall try to use this unique opportunity to the maximum extent to fundamentally change the image of Vladivostok and the eastern part of Russia as a whole and to open up new prospects before that region.

Q: The series of interviews that the Itar-Tass news agency and South Korea’s major daily JoongAng Ilbo take together for multi-million audiences in both countries is designed to deepen understanding between the two countries and to step up cooperation in various fields. For the first time over the past 20 years we in this way evaluate each other and the road we have walked together. Do you think that the development of bilateral relations between Russia and South Korea need such joint media projects, and what role in the development of cooperation between our countries must the media play?

A: Thanks to such media projects the two nations will become better acquainted with each other's lives and to learn more about the relationship between Russia and South Korea.

Interaction between the Itar-Tass news agency and South Korea’s news agency Yonhap, which began with the establishment of diplomatic relations, deserves positive comments. Another contract between the news agencies is to be concluded during President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Seoul in November.

I am confident that cooperation between Itar-Tass and Yonhap, and among other printed and electronic media of our countries, has good prospects, for it meets the demand of people in both countries for objective and true information about the processes afoot in Russia and the Republic of Korea.