On March 28, in an interview with the media, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko affirmed that Moscow would be forced to take corresponding retaliatory measures if Seoul proceeded to provide weapons to the Kiev government.
Deputy Minister Rudenko emphasized that over the past time, through many different diplomatic channels, Russia has continuously conveyed its consistent and steadfast stance to South Korean officials.
Russia considers South Korea's participation in lethal weapons supplies to Ukraine, whether directly or indirectly, an unacceptable act.
This warning is specifically aimed at South Korea's involvement in the Ukraine Priority Request List program, also known as the PURL mechanism.
According to Russian diplomats, if Seoul ignores these warnings, the existing good bilateral cooperation relationship between Russia and South Korea will certainly suffer extremely serious losses.
In that worst-case scenario, Moscow will have no choice but to activate corresponding retaliatory strikes. Despite sending a tough message, Mr. Rudenko still expressed hope that Russia will not be forced to take such negative steps.
South Korea is one of the world's leading arms exporters with an extremely impressive defense production capacity. Although the Seoul government still maintains a policy of banning the export of lethal weapons to areas in armed conflict, pressure from Western allies is increasing.
Russia's warning at this sensitive time shows that Moscow wants to extinguish all intentions to change policies from the womb.
This move is not only a diplomatic reminder but also a strategic step to protect Russia's security interests from the unpredictable fluctuations of the times.
