Russia says Tokyo stance inadmissible, counterproductive

Tokyo, January 22 ANI Sputnik The Russian Embassy in Japan said on Saturday that Tokyo's position toward Russia was inadmissible and counterproductive, citing recent talks between Washington and Tokyo.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a virtual meeting and discussed the challenges Russia is presenting to Ukraine and agreed to stay in close contact with developments in Ukraine, according to the White House.

The Russian embassy said on Facebook that at yesterday's Japan-US summit, the Japanese side tried to threaten Russia with some'strong actions', coordinated with the US and other allies and partners.

The statements are unacceptable, senseless, and counterproductive for the Russian-Japanese relations and the dialogue between the nations, according to the embassy.

The embassy said that we would advise our Japanese colleagues to read into the text of Russian initiatives on mutual security guarantees with the US and NATO, as well as to assess the aggressive activities of the North Atlantic alliance in its eastward expansion toward Russian borders and military territorial development of Russia's neighbor Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations of the West and Kiev of military build-up and preparations for invasion of Ukraine. Moscow said the allegations could be used as a pretext for deployment of more NATO military equipment near Russian borders.

In late 2021, Russia presented draft proposals on security guarantees in Europe to the United States and NATO. On January 10, Russia and the US held strategic stability talks in Geneva, which was followed by a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on January 12, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe talks in Vienna the next day. Russia-Ukraine relations were high on the agenda during the talks.