Russia seeks a peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue within the framework of the six-party talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said on Monday.

"Certain hopeful signs have appeared in the development of the situation recently as a result of persistent efforts, including Russia's," Alexeyev, who is the head of Russia's delegation to the six-party talks, said in an interview with the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily.
 
He said Moscow "is interested in the resumption of dialogue as soon as possible." "But we all need a result, even if modest," he added.

"We see the most important task as looking for political solutions acceptable for all participants, through work in the spirit of compromise and mutual concessions," Alexeyev said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said earlier in the day that the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue would resume in Beijing on Dec. 18. The talks involve China, North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)