Russia and North Korea to trade in 'rubles' amid surging International sanctions

In the arena of growing sanctions against the two nations, Russia and North Korea are working towards creating a system of settlements in rubles. According to Russian news outlet Sputnik, both Moscow and Pyongyang are taking the initiative to boost trade between the two nations amid rising international sanctions. In an interview with the news outlet, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora explained the whole ordeal. The Russian official insisted that trading in rubles is the need of the hour since the volume of bilateral trade has been small and have been severely affected by the United Nation Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea. 

"Nevertheless, we have many opportunities even in these conditions to increase trade turnover. The main thing is to establish a system of settlements in rubles, and we are working on it," Matsegora told Sputnik. "Both we and our Korean counterparts are looking forward to the resumption of mutual visits, we have exchanged proposals on the matter. I hope the first visits can take place already at the end of this year," the Russian Ambassador to North Korea added. The diplomat also addressed the ongoing tensions that have engulfed the Korean Peninsula.

Brewing Tensions in Korean Peninsula 

The Russian diplomat also discussed the rising tension in the Korean Peninsula and insisted that Russia wants the normalisation of relations between North Korea and South Korea. Earlier this year, both Moscow and China warned the US about the escalations of tensions between the two Koreas. However, Washington denied these allegations and called them baseless. “Russia is interested in the normalisation of relations between the two Koreas and sincerely wishes that the North and the South solve all the problems between them on an independent basis, without outside interference and on the principles of national consolidation," the ambassador asserted. "Over the past decades, we have experienced several major and a dozen 'moderate' crises here. Each of them invariably ended in detente. I think it will be the same this time," he added.