Kishida Pledges Continued Assistance in Phone Talks with Zelenskyy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:11 JST, August 30, 2023

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held telephone talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday and told him Japan intends to continue providing economic and other assistance.

During the phone conversation, Kishida denounced Russia’s continued military attacks on Ukraine.

“Japan shall continue to provide support to Ukraine,” the prime minister said after the telephone talks.

The conversation lasted about 20 minutes. Kishida explained Japan’s assistance measures for Ukraine, including one via the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s trust fund, and Zelenskyy expressed gratitude.

Kishida and Zelenskyy agreed to continue to collaborate closely.

According to Japanese government sources, Zelenskyy told Kishida that he expects Japan to exercise leadership as the chair of the Group of Seven countries.

The phone conversation between the two leaders was the first since June.

Kishida and Zelenskyy had planned to hold an in-person meeting in July when visiting Lithuania. However, the meeting did not happen because talks by NATO members were prolonged.

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