Moscow calls on North Korea and the United States to begin negotiations and is ready to contribute to this, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, RIA Novosti reports.

Russian minister said that they urge partners to focus on solving specific problems of the Korean peninsula on the basis of negotiations. For that, according to Lavrov, it is necessary not to break contacts with Pyongyang, but, on the contrary, to develop them.

Russian foreign minister said that they are firmly convinced that not only the North Korea, but also the United States, as well as their allies, must refrain from any steps that can provoke a crisis, and finally must launch a negotiation process. Lavrov added that Russia would do this in every possible way.

At the same time, he noted that Russia does not share the pursuit to exert “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang and establish a complete blockade of the country.

Lavrov explained, that they are, indeed, seriously concerned about the North Korea's desire to acquire nuclear status. They will never accept or approve of this. The steps taken by Pyongyang in this direction are fraught with undermining the global non-proliferation regime. Russian minister added that in the current tense situation on the Korean peninsula, these steps are just dangerous.

Earlier, State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said that at the moment, the U.S. does not consider it possible to negotiate with North Korea. The White House said that Pyongyang should stop nuclear and missile tests in order to begin negotiations, which is in fact a prerequisite.

North Korea in turn stated that it does not agree to discuss its nuclear program with the U.S., since it sees an attempt to promote a resolution on sanctions against North Korea in the UN Security Council in Washington's initiative.