Article by Russian Ambassador Andrey Kulik to “Seoul City” Magazine

I am glad to welcome the readers of the «Seoul city» magazine in the New Year. I wish everyone good health and well-being.

February 10 is the Day of the Diplomatic Service in Russia. On this day we are proud not only of the centuries-old history of the Russian diplomatic service, which roots go back to the XVI century, when so called Posolsky Prikaz (Ambassadorial Department) - the first foreign office - was established in Russia, but we also pay tribute to the memory of our colleagues who faithfully served their Motherland.

Today Russian diplomacy is steadily strengthening its positions due to realistic analysis of key trends of global development, adherence to such foreign policy principles as pragmatism, multi-vector approach, and consistent promotion of national interests.

We celebrate one more important holiday in February - Defender of the Fatherland Day (February 23). This Day represents the glorious centuries-old history of our army. At all times it served as a stronghold of the state, the basis of its power and stability. On this day we honor the memory of the fallen for the freedom and independence of the Motherland, pay tribute to veterans who defeated fascism.

In the context of the history of Russia and Korea, I cannot fail to mention the heroic feat of the sailors of the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets, who died in an unequal battle in the port of Chemulpo on the first day of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. The jack of the legendary cruiser is now on display at the Museum of Incheon.

The year 2020 is significant for diplomatic relations between Russia and Korea: September 30 we will mark the 30th anniversary of their establishment. However, the history of friendship and cooperation between our states is not limited to three decades.

In 1884 after signing the Russia-Korean Friendship and Commerce Treaty our country invariably pursued a peaceful and constructive policy, contributed a lot for strengthening statehood and development of Korea.

To celebrate the anniversary of the Russian-Korean diplomatic relations the Year of mutual exchanges between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea will be held with a variety of events from visits of delegation between parliaments, ministries, agencies and regions to various cultural venues, including tours of famous actors and troupes, scientific conferences and forums, festivals, exhibitions and presentations. The grand opening ceremony of the Year will be held soon.

The development of relations between Russia and the Republic of Korea, are based on common interests and mutual trust, has a self-sufficient value for us and is considered as one of the priorities of our Russian in East Asia.

Over the past period we succeeded in building strong base for mutually beneficial partnership. Russia and Korea cooperate practically in all spheres, including security, economy, culture, education, science and technology.

Sustainable political dialogue has been established between Moscow and Seoul: over 30 years the presidents of Russia and the Republic of Korea have met 31 times including the Moscow summit on June 22, 2018 and the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019. Close contacts are maintained by the parliaments, profile agencies and regions. The Russia-Korea Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation functions under the leadership of vice-premiers. An array of bilateral treaties and agreements has been concluded, including the key Treaty on Basic Relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea signed on November 19, 1992.

Bilateral communication in military sphere has been developing. Strategic dialogue is conducted between the Ministries of defense. Naval vessels of Russia and the Republic of Korea visit ports of the two countries on regular basis.

In the position of Russian Ambassador I consider as one of my main tasks consistent realization of agreements, reached at the bilateral summits, for the benefit of further expansion of multidimensional Russia-Korea cooperation.

Moscow and Seoul strive to increase mutual annual trade volume up to 30 billion US dollars and the amount of mutual trips of Russian and Korean citizens up to 1 million per year.

We consider investing as an important sphere for mutual efforts. We are ready for joint work with our South Korean partners in fulfilling the Plan of the realization of “Nine Bridges” concept, which outlines the promising projects to be realized in such fields as railway, seaports, energy, gas, arctic navigation, shipbuilding, agriculture, fishing, industrial clusters, ecology, education and healthcare.

Good opportunities are opening in humanitarian sphere. Considerable contribution for cultural and people exchanges is been made by
Russia-Korea Dialogue Forum, Russian cultural and educational center Pushkin House and other public and non-profit organization of the two countries.

In linkage with the jubilee of the Russia-Korea diplomatic relations, we plan to conduct The Year of Cultural Exchanges and The Russian Seasons International Festival, which will introduce to South Koreans rich and diverse culture and arts of Russia.

Big potential has the development of bilateral tourism. Recently launched Travel Russia project offers popular tourist routes to South Koreans, which introduce to them the natural beauty of vast expanses of Russia from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad.

Russia actively cooperates with all concerned parties, including Republic of Korea, in order to consolidate positive developments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Moscow has always played and will continue to play constructive role in the Korean-affairs settlement. We call on the US and DPRK as well as other concerned parties to participate in realizing the Russian-Chinese Road map and the relevant Action plan, which provide for a step-by-step path to normalizing
of US-North Korea relations and reaching the final goal – establishing a collective system of peace and security in East Asia

Hand in hand with our partners in Seoul Russia will consistently realize policy for comprehensive strengthening of good-neighborly relations and expansion of mutually beneficial ties with Republic of Korea in order to elevate them to a qualitatively new level.