MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged Washington not to use force against North Korea, as tensions surged after the latest missile test by Pyongyang.
In a phone call late Wednesday with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Lavrov “underscored... the need to refrain from any military steps that could have unpredictable consequences,” the foreign ministry in Moscow said.
Russia’s lead diplomat said any attempts to toughen sanctions against North Korea would be “counterproductive and dangerous” while condemning Pyongyang’s firing of a missile over Japan as a “gross violation” of United Nations resolutions.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a briefing on Thursday warned that “the contest of force that is now being demonstrated, will only lead the region to the brink of a military conflict.”
She pushed for holding peace talks to cool down the situation, saying that “at the moment only Russia and China have put forward a realistic initiative.”
“Once again we call all the involved sides to urgently start establishing dialogue without preconditions, based on the proposals on the Russian and Chinese road map,” Zakharova said.
Early on Tuesday, the reclusive state fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 over Japan, prompting US President Donald Trump to insist that “all options” were on the table in an implied threat of pre-emptive military action.
The UN Security Council denounced North Korea’s latest missile test, unanimously demanding that Pyongyang halt the program.
US heavy bombers and stealth jet fighters took part in a joint live fire drill in South Korea on Thursday, intended as a show of force against the North, Seoul said.
And British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is visiting Japan, said Thursday that London and Tokyo would work together to step up the pace of sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea after the latest launch.
Russia warns US against using force over North Korea
Russia warns US against using force over North Korea
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
