InternationalIran

Tokyo: We are ready to provide an opportunity for dialogue between Tehran and Riyadh


According to Fars News Agency’s International Service, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Saturday stressed the need to maintain security in the energy market and said he was ready to provide an opportunity for dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with Arab News ahead of a three-day visit to Turkey and the UAE, Hayashi said he intends to discuss issues such as energy market stability and the situation in Ukraine with Ukrainian officials.

The Japanese official said that Saudi Arabia is one of the most important countries in the field of security in West Asia and as the leader of the Arab Islamic countries and a member of the G20, “Japan will strengthen the strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia in various fields.”

“Turkey has a very important geopolitical position and is a strategic partner for Japan,” said Hayashi, who is scheduled to arrive in Turkey today (Saturday) to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mulud Cavusoglu.

“In the UAE, I will use the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to strengthen cooperation, in a way beyond the current cooperation in the field of energy,” he added.

He added that the UAE and Saudi Arabia account for 30% and 40% of Japan’s oil imports, respectively, and that both countries are important partners in energy security, and that cooperation is now more important as oil prices rise due to the Ukraine crisis.

Hayashi added that stability in the energy market would benefit oil producers and buyers, and that Japan hoped the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both members of OPEC Plus, would play a role.

“Japan intends to work with the international community, including the Group of Seven, to improve the current situation,” he said. “We want to work with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries to prepare a response to this situation.”

Referring to “Saudi Arabia’s concerns” about Iran’s nuclear program, the Japanese diplomat said Japan could use its capacity as a country with traditionally friendly relations with Iran to provide an opportunity for open dialogue between the two sides.

“We have asked the parties affected by Iran to refrain from actions that are contrary to the peace and stability of the region and to be constructive in achieving “Let fire and peace prevail in Yemen.”

“We welcome the efforts of the international community to end the conflict in Yemen, including the work of the UN Special Representative for Yemen, Hans Grandberg,” Hayashi added.

“Through telephone calls with our counterparts in the respective countries, I have worked to achieve peace and ceasefire in Yemen until the end of peace and stability in Yemen and the Middle East, including through humanitarian aid,” he said. “And I will continue political engagement in cooperation with countries inside and outside the region.”

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for assistance from the Donetsk and Luhansk republics (separatists in eastern Ukraine). Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that “demilitarization and de-Naziization” are key goals of the operation.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine and that the Russian armed forces are only targeting Ukraine’s military infrastructure. The United States and its allies, including Japan, have responded to Moscow’s move by imposing comprehensive sanctions on Russia.

End of message / p




Suggest this for the front page

Leave a Reply

Back to top button