Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said remarks made by the U.S. Ambassador to the UN earlier in the week were a “bloodthirsty tirade,” adding that Washington approach to North Korea was a “big mistake”.

Speaking during a visit to Rome, the Russian foreign minister condemned comments from Ambassador Nikki Haley who said the North Korean regime would be “utterly destroyed” in the event of a conflict.

“If someone really wants to use force to, as the U.S. representative to the United Nations put it, destroy North Korea … then I think that is playing with fire and a big