Japan, U.S. affirm close coordination on Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi fist bump as they meet before the Quad meeting of foreign ministers in Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/POOL

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to closely cooperate on the Ukraine situation in a bilateral meeting on Friday, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.

"They reaffirmed they were watching carefully the Ukraine situation with grave concern, and that Japan and the United States would coordinate closely on the matter," the official told a media briefing after their bilateral talks in Australia.

Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border, raising fears of war. Moscow denies any plans to invade, but is seeking sweeping security guarantees, including a promise from NATO never to admit Kiev.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Click For Restrictions -
https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html