MOSCOW, March 19. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry has noted the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s decision to suspend the drafting of the Russian-Japanese agreement on the prevention of dangerous military activities but is confident that this cooperation will resume shortly, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov.
“Considering the unilateral approaches assumed by Japan with regard to relations with Russia, we think that the development of constructive decisions on problems concerning military activities in the region has been postponed indefinitely. We are prepared to do this work and are confident that it will resume shortly as both sides need it and benefit from it,” Antonov said on Wednesday, March 19.
“We are surprised by this decision made by Japan, which until recently showed keen interest in the drafting of such a document. The Japanese military repeatedly contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for clarifications concerning different situations associated with the activities of the Russian Armed Forces in the region, and we always responded positively to such requests from our Japanese partners and provided exhaustive answers,” he said.
Complying with the instructions issued in the course of the Russian-Japanese strategic dialogue in the “two plus two” format and “meeting our partners halfway, we agreed to organize work to draft a comprehensive agreement on the prevention of dangerous military activities,” Antonov said.
As a result, the Russian Defense Ministry set up a delegation of experts which “was given relevant instructions to start working with our Japanese partners.