Obama: Russia Not Abiding by Agreement on Ukraine, Critical to Pressure North Korea

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama accused Russia of not abiding by agreements aimed at defusing the crisis in Ukraine, adding also that it is critical for China to pressure North Korea, in a press conference in Japan according to Reuters on Thursday.
At the start of a four-nation tour of Asia, Obama said in Tokyo on Thursday that, "There was some possibility that Russia could take the wiser course after the meeting in Geneva. So far at least we have seen them not abide by the spirit or the letter of the agreement in Geneva."

"Instead we continue to see malicious, armed men taking over buildings, harassing folks who are disagreeing with them, destabilizing the region and we haven't seen Russia step out and discouraging it," he said.

"On the other side you have seen the government in Kiev taking very concrete steps, introducing amnesty law, offering the whole range of reforms with respect to the constitution, that are consistent with what we discussed in Geneva."
Obama said he had been pessimistic from the off that Moscow would stick to what was agreed in Geneva.
"We have already applied sanctions that have had an impact on the Russian economy. We have continued to hold out the prospect, the possibility to resolve the issue diplomatically."
"We've been very clear about the fact that there is not going to be a military solution to the problem in Ukraine. But, he warned, if Russia did not play its part, there would be "consequences and we will ramp up further sanctions", the US president added.

Speaking about China and North Korea, Obama also told reporters in Japan on Thursday that China's role in ‘stopping' North Korea from forging ahead with a nuclear weapons program is "critically important."

"North Korea has engaged in provocative actions for the last several decades. It's been an irresponsible actor on the international stage for the last several decades," he said.

He added that, "They are the most isolated country in the world. They are subject to more international sanctions and international condemnation than any country in the world."

"Working with Japan, working with the Republic of Korea and working with China ... we can continue to apply more and more pressure on North Korea so that at some junction, they end up taking a different course. "China's participation in pushing the DPRK (North Korea) in a different direction is critically important," he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team