Ukrainian, Japanese FMs agree on preliminary schedule of talks on security guarantees

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this at a joint briefing with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi in Kyiv on Saturday, September 9, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"My Japanese colleague informed the President of Ukraine about Japan's readiness to start negotiations on the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement in the development of the G7 declaration, which was adopted in Vilnius. Today we agreed on exactly how these negotiations will take place and outlined a preliminary schedule," Kuleba said.

When asked to clarify what security guarantees will be provided by Japan, Kuleba said this would be the subject of negotiations.

"The Japanese side will provide us with the first version of its proposals, we will supplement it, and thus decide on the points of intersection," he said.

He added that during the negotiations, the two countries' foreign ministers had also agreed that Ukrainian-Japanese relations should become systemic.

"To do so, we need to draw up several new bilateral agreements and create additional mechanisms of intergovernmental cooperation. Our teams will conduct substantive consultations on this issue," Kuleba said.