Japan, Ukraine Agree to Start Talks on Security Pact

Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, agreed that their countries will launch negotiations on a bilateral security pact.

Hayashi also held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba separately the same day, in which he expressed Japan's plan to support Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery efforts with public and private sectors in Japan working together.

In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Zelenskyy said Japan and Ukraine will negotiate the security pact based on a Group of Seven joint statement. He expressed gratitude to Japan.

Hayashi said Japan hopes to launch the negotiations as soon as possible.

The Japanese foreign minister told the Ukrainian side that a Japan-Ukraine conference on promoting the war-torn country's economic reconstruction is planned to be held in Tokyo early next year. He also explained that the Japanese Foreign Ministry will establish an office to promote coordination between public and private sectors in helping advancing Ukraine's economic reconstruction.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]