Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is expected to visit Japan starting Sunday for talks with his Japanese counterpart and other senior officials.
Diplomatic sources in Japan and Ukraine say Sybiha will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and others. It is his first visit to Japan since he assumed office as foreign minister.
The sources say Sybiha will accompany a Ukrainian delegation to the Ukrainian National Day event to be held at the World Expo in Osaka on Tuesday. The delegation includes First Lady Olena Zelenska and the deputy prime minister.
Ukraine’s decision to send its foreign minister is apparently aimed at highlighting the importance of relations between the two countries.
Ukrainian officials are likely to call on Japan to ramp up its sanctions against Russia and help in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, wrote in a social media post on Friday that he had held a video conference with Okano Masataka, Secretary General of Japan’s National Security Secretariat.
Yermak noted that Russia is working with North Korea in the development and production of drones.
He said that Ukraine and Japan had agreed to launch a regular mechanism for defense consultations.
AloJapan.com