Japan demanded the "immediate" release of a Japanese journalist detained in Russia and urged it to take positive steps to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) quoted the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement saying that Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi asked his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during a meeting held in Atlanta, USA, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, for the immediate release of a correspondent for the "Hokkaido Shimbun" newspaper, detained in Russia since October 13, and to ensure his fair and humane treatment.
He noted that the meeting, the first between the Japanese and Russian foreign ministers in five years, addressed a number of contentious issues between the two countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturubo Island last August, and the erection of a memorial in Khabarovsk to commemorate the Soviet Union's victory over Japan in World War II.
For her part, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the meeting was held at Japan's request, noting that resuming full bilateral dialogue requires Tokyo to abandon what it described as an aggressive policy towards Moscow, referring to the sanctions imposed on it due to the war in Ukraine.
Japanese-Russian relations have been under constant tension due to the war in Ukraine, as well as the dispute over the four islands known in Japan as the "Northern Territories," which are controlled by Russia and which Tokyo claims sovereignty over, asserting that they are part of its territory and were illegally occupied after World War II.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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