Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova argued that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Ukraine may have been intended to divert focus from the China-Russia summit.
According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, Zaharova spokeswoman told reporters in the capital Moscow on the 23rd (local time), “Maybe he tried to shift the focus by changing the evaluation of Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia and the summit.”
Showing the view that Japan is acting in accordance with the logic and pressure of the United States, he said, “I am not very concerned about Japan’s position because I have known it from before.”
Prime Minister Kishida made a ‘surprising’ visit to Ukraine on the 21st, when the official summit between President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin was held. President Xi paid a state visit to Russia on the 20th and 22nd.
Prime Minister Kishida had originally announced in advance that he would visit India and return home, but he immediately visited Ukraine via Poland.
It is said that the Japanese government notified the Russian side before Prime Minister Kishida’s visit.
Prime Minister Kishida moved to Poland after visiting Ukraine. He returned home on a chartered plane at 6:30 am (Korean time) on the 23rd after completing a schedule such as a summit meeting in Poland. At 9 o’clock on the same day, he entered the residence of the Prime Minister in Tokyo and told reporters, “There is an invitation to visit Ukraine in January, so I have adjusted the timing.” I heard “I strongly felt that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine was an act of violence that undermined the international order,” he said.
On the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Kishida appeared before the House of Councilors (Senate) budget committee and repeatedly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an act of violence, stressing that “it is necessary to show that (aggression) comes with a high price.” He expressed his intention to continue sanctions against Russia.
He also kept in mind China, which aims to unify Taiwan, and said, “We firmly reject the unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force, the threat and use of nuclear weapons like Russia is doing.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.