NEW DELHI:
Russia
has no doubt that the
United States
can destroy
North Korea.
That's what Russian foreign minister
Sergey Lavrov
told state media on Tuesday.
"We heard the statements from President Trump about North Korea in the same vein for many times. We don't doubt that the United States has capacity to do something very destructive," Lavrov told state-run news agency TASS.
In his first appearance at the
United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) on Tuesday, President
Donald Trump warned the hermit kingdom that if the US's "great strength and patience" run out, it could "totally destroy North Korea."
"The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," the American leader said.
Still, foreign minister Lavrov appreciated parts of Trump’s address as well - the part where Trump emphasised that diverse countries can "work side by side on the basis of mutual respect" regardless of their "different values, different cultures, and different dreams".
"In America, we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch," he said.
Lavrov welcomed these words of Trump.
"He said he respects sovereignty and equality in international relations, that the United States wants to live by example and not otherwise, and that the US would not impose its way of life on others and will accept the plurality of the nations, cultures and civilizations," Lavrov said.
"I think it’s a very welcomed statement which we haven't heard from an American leader for a very long time," Lavrov told TASS.