title: Senior Russian diplomat hails U.S. readiness to start talks with North Korea: Ifx
text: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson s statement that Washington is ready to begin direct talks with North Korea, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday. Tillerson said direct talks with Pyongyang might start  without pre-conditions, backing away from a key U.S. demand that North Korea must first accept that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be part of any negotiations. 