Putin: ”Highly commendable” that South Korea is not directly supplying weapons to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his intention to restore relations between South Korea and Russia on the 5th (local time), saying, "I highly appreciate that South Korea is not directly supplying weapons to Ukraine."
According to Russian state-run TASS and other sources, President Putin made the remarks while meeting with representatives of major news agencies from around the world in St. Petersburg on the same day.
"We highly appreciate South Korea's decision not to directly supply weapons to the conflict zone (Ukraine)," Putin said.
"When I work with the government, I don't see any anti-Russia attitudes," he said. "But I know that the U.S. is approaching (South Korea) to procure weapons to support Ukraine.
"The Korean government is closely monitoring the situation," he said, revealing his wariness. This is the first time that President Putin has publicly voiced a positive assessment of South Korea's support for Ukraine.
President Putin also expressed his intention to restore relations between South Korea and Russia. "I hope that Russia-South Korea relations will not deteriorate," he said. "I am interested in the development of relations between the two countries regarding the entire Korean Peninsula."
" However, President Putin also said, "South Korea is responsible for the current awkwardness in the relationship between South Korea and Russia." President Putin said, "Unfortunately, South Korea has not been very active in the areas of cooperation between us.
"We intend to continue to cooperate with South Korea, but this is a choice made by the South Korean leadership, not ours," he said.
"From our side, the channels are open and we are ready to continue cooperation," he said.