21 March 2017

News Report: Russia, Japan Need to Deepen Mutual Understanding on Security – Kishida

Russian and Japanese foreign ministers plan to hold an intensive security (dialogue) on Monday, Japanese foreign policy chief Fumio Kishida said Monday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Russia and Japan need to deepen their mutual understanding on security issues in light of the recent escalation in nuclear situation on the Korean peninsula, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday.

"In light of the worsening security situation in Northeast Asia after North Korea’s ballistic missile launches, it is important that Russia and Japan deepen mutual understanding in the sphere of security," Kishida said at talks with Russian foreign policy chief Sergey Lavrov.

Moreover, Russian and Japanese foreign ministers plan to hold an intensive security dialogue involving their defense counterparts, Japanese foreign policy chief Fumio Kishida said Monday.

"We held consultations at the level of foreign ministers earlier today. We had a frank exchange of opinions on Russian-Japanese ties and topics of the international agenda. Now foreign and defense ministers plan to hold an even more intensive dialogue on security guarantees in a 2+2 format," Kishida said after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Meanwhile, Russia and Japan want to maintain an equally active high-level dialogue they saw last year, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at a meeting with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov Monday.

"Last year, we held four meetings at the highest level, our political dialogue was unprecedentedly active," Kishida said. "This year, we plan to have an equally active dialogue. For this reason, we plan a frank exchange of opinions on security matters of mutual interest."

Moreover, Russia and Japan will continue working together on a post-WWII peace pact their leaders agreed to seal at last year’s talks, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday.

"On the issue of the peace treaty, we have confirmed that – like our leaders agreed last year, they both expressed their determination to resolve this issue – we will continue working closely together in order to achieve this result," Kishida told reporters after meeting Russia’s foreign and defense ministers in Tokyo.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.