The South Korean Presidency said Thursday that the possible supply of arms to Ukraine in the framework of the Russian invasion »depends on what Russia does in the future».
»Russian authorities comment on things that do not happen, but what we do in the future may be seen the other way around, as it depends on Russia’s actions in the future,» a senior South Korean official said, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
These statements came after Moscow and Seoul have clashed over comments by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in which he acknowledged that the Asian country does not rule out supplying weapons if there is a »real danger to the population».
Thus, the South Korean official asserted that »the president’s words were a common sense and principled response» despite the fact that there are currently »no changes in the support to Ukraine».
»(Yoon) put it in a hypothetical way: if there is a serious civilian massacre or a humanitarian problem that the international community would consider serious from a humanitarian point of view, how can Korea stand still in a situation?» he added.
He also stressed that »there is no legal provision in our country’s domestic law that prohibits arms support to an external belligerent country» and indicated that the country is »much more active in providing humanitarian and financial aid this year».
»The reason why we are not taking such actions voluntarily is to balance and fulfill the task of maintaining Korea-Russia relations in a stable manner while actively participating in the ranks of the international community to protect the freedom of the Ukrainian people,» he explained.
The Kremlin reacted to Yoon’s possible supply, stating that it would provide arms to its »partners» in North Korea in case they were encouraged to support the Ukrainian Army armament.
Former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that the South Korean leader’s statements were a »radical turn» from his previous position that war support to Ukraine »was completely out of the question».
»I wonder what the inhabitants of this country (South Korea) will say when they see the latest samples of Russian weapons from their closest neighbors, our North Korean partners,» the former Russian president said on his official channel of the social network Telegram, where he stressed that this maneuver would be a »quid pro quo».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
