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Polish, Japanese FMs condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine

Hayashi said his country cannot pretend that "the whole situation does not affect Japan."
Paweł Supernak/PAP

The Polish and Japanese foreign ministers have called for dialogue in solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and have condemned Russia’s actions as “a grave violation of international law.”

“We regret that Russia has chosen the path of aggression and war instead of dialogue and diplomacy,” Zbigniew Rau, the Polish foreign minister, said at a press conference after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Warsaw on Monday.

“We both want to support Ukraine during this difficult time,” Rau added.

Hayashi called the massacres of civilians in Bucha and other places near Kyiv, as revealed by the Ukrainian authorities after Russians withdrew from the area, “a violation of international humanitarian law.”

“I have told the minister that I am deeply appalled by reports of extremely brutal acts of violence against the civilian population in the vicinity of Kyiv,” Hayashi said.

“We believe that the Russian assault is a grave violation of international law and an attempt at the unilateral change of the status quo through the use of force,” the Japanese minister said.

Hayashi said his country cannot pretend that “the whole situation does not affect Japan.”

“We want to cooperate with Poland, our strategic partner, to protect the free and open order in the world, with sanctions against Russia being an element of those activities,” Hayashi said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who met with Hayashi later in the day, said that the two countries would continue to cooperate in helping war refugees. He added Japan will support Poland and other countries helping Ukraine with the amount of USD 100 million.

“Although our countries are separated by thousands of kilometres, we share a common goal: a world without war,” Morawiecki wrote on Twitter.

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