Russia interested in Japan’s participation in Geneva-2 – Lavrov

Russia hails Japan’s intention to take part in the Geneva-2 conference on Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after two-plus-two talks on Saturday.

“The main task on the Syrian track for the entire world community is to convene a Geneva-2 conference as soon as possible,” Lavrov said. “There has been too much gambling around this initiative that Russia and the United States put forward. Too many attempts to disrupt this initiative, or at least to distort its meaning and to make it follow an unrealistic course and eventually bring it to a dead end”,according to Voice of Russia, TASS, RIA.

“In a situation like this we very much appreciate the positions of those countries which consistently support this initiative by Moscow and Washington without any preconditions in its original form. Japan is one of such countries. We confirmed that we would be very much interested to see its participation in Geneva-2.

Mr. Kishida thanked Russia for supporting Japan’s wish to participate in the Geneva conference.

Moscow hopes US-Japanese relations to create no problems for Russia – Lavrov

Moscow hopes that relations between the United States and Japan will not pose any problems to Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after two-plus-two format talks between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries on Saturday.

“The two-plus-two format is not an encroachment on Japan’s relations with the United States or with any other country. We hope that the United States’ relations with Japan will not pose problems to Russia, either,” Lavrov said. “It is our fundamental principle to never make friends with any country to the detriment of somebody else. It is one of the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy to ensure not a single country should feel discomfort or risks to its security.”

Lavrov said “this is precisely why Russia has been pressing for the establishment of a new architecture in the Asia-Pacific Region that would rely on non-bloc principles and the idea that no country shall maintain its own security at the expense of others.”

 “The principle of indivisibility of security has not been translated into action yet, which is seen in the United States’ plans for creating a global missile defense,” Lavrov said. “I see the main meaning of the two-plus-two format in advancing the dialogue over the problem of security in the Asia-Pacific Region in a great variety of aspects and in fostering a climate of confidence and strengthening relations of trust between Russia and Japan.”

M.D