"NATO has destroyed security in Europe and is now taking on the Asia-Pacific"

The United States and its allies are in practice "natofying" the Asia-Pacific region, with a bet on fragmentation of the common security space. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Rudenko. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance has destroyed security in Europe and is now taking on the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the complicated relations with Japan and South Korea, which joined the anti-Russian sanctions, the Russian Federation remains one of the important suppliers of LNG to Japan, export of uranium fuel for South Korean nuclear power plants has increased. On the difficult situation in the Asian region and the conclusion of a peace treaty with Tokyo - in an exclusive interview with Andrey Rudenko "Izvestia".

"The Americans and their allies are already "natoizing" the Asia-Pacific region in practice"

- The West often speaks of the need for NATO in Asia. What is the threat of such rhetoric to security in this part of the world? How do Russia and other regional players feel about such a prospect?

- The West has long ago moved from words to deeds. Under the slogan of "indivisibility of the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions," the Americans and their allies are already "natoizing" the Asia-Pacific region in practice. They are betting on fragmentation of the common security space and creation of a block military-political architecture with an unprecedented range of tasks and goals. The regional space is being pumped up with strike weapons, including strategic and nuclear weapons. All this directly undermines the decades-old system of multilateral relations in Asia, which was open, inclusive and always focused on the tasks of joint positive development.

The region is well aware of the consequences of NATO's activity. What is happening today around Ukraine is just one of the episodes in NATO's "record". The North Atlantic Alliance has destroyed security in Europe and is now taking on the Asia-Pacific region. Most of our regional partners understand the threats it poses. No one wants a repeat of the Yugoslav, Libyan, Afghan or Ukrainian scenarios. No one wants confrontation, conflicts and an arms race here. Most Asian countries are not accustomed to living and working according to the principle of "whoever is not with us is against us" imposed by the West.

That is why the states of the Global South are increasingly interested in such formats of open and equal interaction as the SCO and BRICS. The best proof of this was last year, when applications to join these associations peaked.

"Exports of uranium fuel for South Korean nuclear power plants have increased"

- Russia is actively developing cooperation with most Asian countries that are members of the EAEU, SCO and ASEAN. Are there any prospects for developing trade and economic relations with such unfriendly countries in the region as Japan and the Republic of Korea? Does the Russian side see the interest of these countries in the growth of trade turnover with our country?

- The accession of the Republic of Korea and Japan to the anti-Russian sanctions of the collective West has led to a significant reduction in the volume of trade turnover and practical cooperation with these countries. Well-known South Korean and Japanese manufacturers of automobiles and consumer electronics, some of which have not officially announced their withdrawal from the Russian market, have suspended their business activities in Russia, ceding their positions to competitors. No place is empty. At present, their production facilities are used to manufacture products of other brands, while in some cases there are still prospects for them to resume production of their own goods. At the same time, a number of South Korean food industry enterprises preferred to continue and even increase their business activity in Russia, taking into account the new opportunities, successfully adapting to the current conditions.

Russia is still one of the most important suppliers of LNG to Japan. Exports of uranium fuel for South Korean nuclear power plants have increased. Cooperation with our East Asian neighbors in the field of fisheries is developing steadily, including within the framework of specialized intergovernmental agreements. There is potential for increasing exports to Japan of agricultural products, including grain and meat, as well as timber.

In general, it seems that South Korean and Japanese business, despite the solidarity of the governments of the two countries with the well-known anti-Russian attitudes of the West in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, is interested in preserving the potential of cooperation with Russia, hoping to resume it in full as the geopolitical situation stabilizes. To be honest, this will not be easy: too much time has been lost, and those companies that have defiantly left Russia have seriously damaged their business reputation. We cannot ignore this for the future. Nor can we ignore the participation of such entrepreneurs in programs to provide economic and logistical assistance to the Kiev regime.

- Can Moscow and Tokyo return to discussing a peace treaty in the foreseeable future? Or have Japan's unfriendly actions closed this possibility forever?

- The Japanese government, after launching a special military operation in February 2022, embarked on a path of consistent dismantling of Russian-Japanese relations, the foundation of which had been built by mutual efforts over decades. Unfortunately, all this is still going on.

Tokyo has imposed 25 packages of illegitimate sanctions against our country. Japanese public consciousness is being poisoned by Russophobic ideology through the efforts of politicians, government officials and the national media. Joint provocative military activity with the United States and other NATO member States is demonstratively increasing near our Far Eastern shores. At the same time, Japan is providing direct logistical and technical assistance to the Kyiv regime.

Under such conditions, we see no possibility of resuming negotiations with Tokyo on the conclusion of a fundamental document, which was intended to become the basis for long-term good-neighbourly relations. The corresponding position is set out in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry of March 21, 2022.

We have always treated the Japanese people, their rich history and culture with sincere respect and sought mutually beneficial cooperation. We were not the first to unravel the spiral of confrontation. We are not the ones who should make the first step towards it. The normalization of inter-State dialogue is impossible without Tokyo's refusal, confirmed by concrete practical steps, to abandon its hostile anti-Russian policy, which is leading to the final destruction of our ties and the escalation of tension in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.