Kishida calls on Putin to make diplomatic efforts over Ukraine

Jiji Press

23:50 JST, February 17, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, calling on the president to seek a solution to the Ukrainian situation through diplomacy.

During the 25-minute talks, Kishida also urged Putin to avoid trying to change the status quo by force.

The Japanese and Russian leaders had talks over the phone for the second time since Kishida took office last year. Their previous talks took place in October.