March 28, 2024

Japan’s Kishida heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelensky

Japan’s prime minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a visit that coincides with high-level discussions already underway between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Moscow. 

Fumio Kishida will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland under Zelensky’s leadership, and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as head of Japan and chairman of G-7,” during his visit, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. 

At the same time, Kishida will reject Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine more than a year ago and “affirm his commitment to defend the rules-based international order,” the ministry’s statement said.

As Kishida kicked off his Ukraine visit, the Russian defense ministry said Tuesday that two of its strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons flew over the Sea of Japan for roughly seven hours.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gets on train in Przemysl, Poland, early Tuesday, March 21, 2023, heading to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Prime Minister Kishida gets on a train in Przemysl, Poland, early Tuesday, March 21, 2023, heading to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
AP

Russia routinely flies the Tupolev Tu-95MS warplanes over international waters in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and Pacific in a show of strength.  

The defense ministry said the bombers, escorted by two fighter jets, were on a “planned flight.” 

Japanese media showed Kishida riding a train from Poland for Kyiv, the same route President Biden traveled last month when he made a secret journey to meet with Zelensky to reiterate the US’ commitment to Ukraine’s war effort and to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.

 Zelensky
Kishida is expected to offer continuing support for Ukraine when he meets with Zelensky.
AFP via Getty Images

Japan, which has joined the US and other Western nations in slapping sanctions on Russia, will host a Group of Seven summit in May, and Kishida was the only leader in the group who hadn’t visited Ukraine.  

Kishida will also meet with his Polish counterpart before returning to Japan on Thursday. 

Japan has had deep concerns with Russia’s relationship with China as Beijing has become more aggressive in the South China Sea by boosting its military presence and by threatening to reunify self-ruled Taiwan.

Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, noted the contrast between the two Pacific-rim leaders. 

“Prime Minister Kishida is making an historic visit to Ukraine to protect the Ukrainian people and promote the universal values enshrined in the UN Charter,” Emanuel wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. 

“Approximately 900 kilometers away, a different and more nefarious partnership is taking shape in Moscow, where Xi Jinping is visiting to protect Vladimir Putin from the International Criminal Court and pardon him from international public opinion against the war,” he said. 

Emanuel said Kishida “stands with freedom,” while Xi “stands with a war criminal.”

In Moscow, Xi and Putin were poised to begin a second day of talks. 

The two leaders spoke for more than four hours on Monday and enjoyed a state dinner at the Kremlin. 

During the visit, Xi has played the role of a peacemaker, floating a potential cease-fire in Ukraine that the US blasted as providing Russia “diplomatic cover” for the war crimes Putin allegedly committed in the war-torn country. 

With Post wires

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