Russia hopes that the fourth round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue in Beijing will yield results, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said in Moscow yesterday.??

"The six-party talks are continuing. We hope that they will yield results," he was quoted by the Itar-Tass News Agency as saying.

 

Over the past few days, China and other participants in the talks tried their best to achieve progress, and "there are chances for their successful completion," the Russian diplomat said.

 

Earlier, Alexeyev said he believed that the ongoing six-party negotiations, the longest round, will wind up later this week.

 

Alexeyev said it is premature to talk about results, as the six-party talks are continuing. "We are expecting the talks to last some more days," he said.

 

He said the six parties, including China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea, are making efforts to come up with a joint document despite some disagreements.

 

"We hope that we'll be able to agree on a final document," Alexeyev said.

 

Russia stands for an extension of security guarantees to Pyongyang, which Moscow believes is important for resolving the nuclear issue, and is ready to participate in realizing such guarantees both on bilateral and multilateral basis, the official said.

 

The fourth round of six-party talks, initiated in 2003 to seek ways for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, resumed in Beijing last Tuesday.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2005)