Russia hopes that the imminent second round of six-party talks on nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will produce a draft final document formulating the key demands of the parties concerned, a high-ranking official said in Moscow Sunday.  

At least a written document defining "the ultimate objective and the general set of wishes" could be made at the Feb. 25 negotiations in Beijing as basic principles, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted by Interfax News Agency as saying.

Losyukov, who heads a Russian delegation to the multilateral talks that also involves the DPRK, the United States, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan, noted before his departure to Beijing that the basic principles are the curtailment of the nuclear program on the Korean Peninsula and guarantees of the absence of nuclear weapons there.

They will ensure security to all sides but the problem is that "everyone has his own idea of the security," he noted.

Losyukov stated that Moscow favors the formation of permanent working groups for the settlement of the nuclear issue on the peninsula so that discussions about multilateral approaches could be held on a permanent basis.

He reiterated that the task could be conducted by a group of experts that would approach to common objectives stage-by-stage and the issues of guarantees and scrapping the nuclear program could also be settled through separate stages.

The deputy minister estimated that the originally one-day negotiations might be prolonged by a day or two.

"We are ready for any course of developments if it is going to be in a direction meeting our interests and our interests do not contradict the interests of other parties," he was quoted as saying.

Losyukov has earlier said that he did not expect a breakthrough in the forthcoming negotiations. Maintaining that freezing nuclear program is not the final goal, he has suggested that parties involved in the talks should seek "understandings on ways to develop the negotiation process."

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2004)