MOSCOW, Aug 10: Russia said on Sunday it would hold talks with North and South Korea in Moscow this week to prepare for six-way negotiations in Beijing aimed at defusing a standoff over the North’s nuclear ambitions.

“The consultations will begin literally the day after tomorrow,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Itar-Tass news agency as he arrived in Beijing amid a flurry of weekend meetings between regional players.

“We are working on the possibility of conducting a similar meeting with Japan in the near future,” Losyukov said. “It is likely that those who are taking part in these consultations will lead the delegations at the talks in Beijing.”

The nuclear crisis erupted last October after US officials said Pyongyang had admitted to pursuing a covert N-weapons programme. It escalated after Stalinist North Korea expelled UN nuclear inspectors, pulled out of the NPT and restarted a mothballed reactor north of Pyongyang.

The United States has long been urging Russia and China, North Korea’s old Communist allies, to use their influence in Pyongyang to help resolve the crisis but until recently Moscow appeared reluctant to play a major role, diplomats say.

DIPLOMATIC FLURRY: Tass said Losyukov would discuss preparations for the multilateral talks with Chinese officials including Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi who has played a key role in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table.

Wang returned on Saturday from a three-day visit to Pyongyang and told reporters the six-party talks would start in Beijing in the latter part of August.—Reuters