Russia dismissed South Korea’s proposed five-party talks suggestion on Tuesday, on the same day that the South Korean foreign minister defended the idea.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed concern over “isolating” North Korea, in reaction to the South Korean president’s remarks from last Friday.

“We have heard a proposal from South Korea to gather in the ‘six-minus-one’ format but this is not a good idea,” Lavrov said at a press conference, citing Iran as a negative result of isolation.

Russian-born expert Andrei Lankov said the Six-Party Talks are the only way that Russia can take an active role in