(Dan Tri) – Russia believes that major powers need a new approach to the North Korean issue and should abandon applying pressure by `strangling` Pyongyang.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Photo: Tass).

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on March 29 that the United Nations should not use old methods to handle issues related to North Korea.

She accused the US and its allies of increasing tensions in Asia and putting pressure on Pyongyang.

Ms. Zakharova’s remarks came in the context of Russia vetoing the extension of a group of experts monitoring the implementation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea related to its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Moscow’s move affects the implementation of a series of United Nations sanctions after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.

`It is clear to us that the United Nations Security Council can no longer use old approaches regarding issues on the Korean peninsula,` Ms. Zakharova said.

She accused the US and its allies of causing military tensions in the region, and said sanctions imposed on Pyongyang have failed to improve the security situation and caused serious humanitarian consequences for the people.

`The United States and its allies have clearly demonstrated that their interests do not extend beyond the task of suffocating North Korea with all available means and that a peaceful solution is absolutely not on the agenda,` she said.

Meanwhile, the US State Department criticized Russia for its move to veto the extension of the North Korea monitoring group.

Previously, the US accused North Korea of providing Russia with a series of weapons and artillery shells during the war with Ukraine.

The US believes that Russia’s move will cause North Korea to engage in more reckless behavior and reduce the prospects of achieving a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Russia’s veto move is considered a major turning point in the international sanctions mechanism against North Korea.

Russia accused the North Korea sanctions monitoring group of not being objective and that they had become a tool of the West.

`The group of experts of the 1718 United Nations Security Council Committee has lost all standards of objectivity and impartiality, which are indispensable features of the group’s mandate,` Ms. Zakharova said.

Ms. Zakharova called on relevant parties to refrain from escalating steps and readjust themselves to find ways to reduce tensions in the region.

North Korea is under United Nations sanctions, including an arms embargo, for developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.