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Japan’s Kishida to consider visit to Kyiv

Fumio Kishida considers visit to Ukraine. (Shutterstock)
Fumio Kishida considers visit to Ukraine. (Shutterstock)
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07 Jan 2023 03:01:52 GMT9
07 Jan 2023 03:01:52 GMT9

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that he will consider visiting Kyiv as requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy asked Kishida to visit the Ukrainian capital during their Friday evening teleconference, which lasted about 30 minutes.

“At this point, nothing has been decided about my possible visit, but I’d like to consider it while taking into account various circumstances,” Kishida told reporters after the telephone talks.

Japan is the only Group of Seven country whose leader has not met with Zelenskyy in person since Russia began invading his country in February 2022.

In April 2022, then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the Ukrainian capital, followed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the next month.

In June last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and then Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Kyiv together.

From the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the capital in April 2022.

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Zelenskyy when the Ukrainian president visited Washington last month.

Kishida is expected to consider when to visit Kyiv and how to get there while carefully monitoring the military situation around the capital and other conditions.

During Friday’s teleconference, Kishida expressed Japan’s eagerness to play an active role as this year’s G-7 president in supporting Ukraine under Russian aggression.

Kishida also explained Japanese assistance to Ukraine, such as provision of power generators and other supplies needed to survive the cold winter.

Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support.

The two leaders agreed to deepen their countries’ cooperation further.

JIJI Press

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