The Russian Federation has scrapped a US-led call at the United Nation’s Security Council to introduce new sanctions against North Korea. The meeting of the Security Council (UNSC) was called by the United States after North Korea test-fired an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that flew about 930 km before plunging into the Sea of Japan. The North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has reportedly called the missile test a gift to the United States on the day of its independence.

Describing the North Korean ballistic missile launch on Tuesday as “dangerous, reckless and irresponsible,” the American Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley urged the UN Security Council to implement new measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, speaking at the emergency UNSC in New York, Vladimir Safronkov, Russia’s deputy envoy to the United Nations, spoke out against new sanctions. Instead, he called for a creative diplomacy and pointed to the joint proposal of China and Russia, which was put forward on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Mr. Safronkov said, “Sanctions cannot be a cure-all panacea. And this has been demonstrated by history……Any attempts to justify a military solution are inadmissible and will lead to unpredictable consequences for the region. In the same manner, attempts to economically strangle North Korea are equally unacceptable, as millions of North Koreans remain in need of humanitarian aid.” The diplomat then added, ““The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China put forth a joint initiative, based on Chinese proposed ideas of a 'double freezing' [missile and nuclear activities by the DPRK and large-scale joint exercises by the United States and the Republic of Korea] and 'parallel advancement' for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as well as establishing a peace mechanism on the Peninsula”.