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A top Russian diplomat left for Washington on Monday to hold consultations on North Korea ahead of a six-nation meeting later this month aimed at defusing the isolated Stalinist state's nuclear standoff with the United States. Interfax news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak, responsible for Moscow's relations with Washington, would also help prepare next month's summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush at Camp David. "Russian-US consultations in Washington are expected to address a wide range of issues related to preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to the United States," the unidentified diplomat told Interfax. "They will also focus on the situation on the Korean peninsula." Interfax did not say which US officials Kislyak would meet in Washington but the State Department said he would be seeing Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov at the six-nation talks on North Korea that are scheduled to begin in Beijing on August 27. It will mark Russia's first official appearance at international negotiations over Washington's nuclear standoff with Pyongyang. Russia, the United States, China, Japan and the two Koreas will be represented by deputy foreign ministers at the meetings in Beijing, which are expected to last for three days. Russia has urged the United States to sign a formal non-aggression pact with North Korea. Washington has refused to do this, hinting that it could instead come to a less formal written agreement with Pyongyang. Moscow and Beijing have also volunteered to offer North Korea assurances of non-aggression. In a separate statement, the Russian foreign ministry said Losyukov held consultations with Japan's ambassador to Moscow during which the two sides "expressed hope that an optimal decision for resolving existing problems and keeping the Korean paninsula nuclear-free" is reached. The Russian statement said the Beijing talks should aim at keeping "peace and stability in Northeast Asia" and that both Russia and Japan would enter the talks with that aim in mind. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
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