Japan on Tuesday expressed “strong concern” about the planned sale of French helicopter carriers to Russia, joining some EU countries in opposing the deal as the West believes Russia has failed to meet international demands to end violence in Ukraine. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a meeting in Tokyo that Japan was strongly concerned about the plan given its potential impact on east Asia’s security situation. “‘Strong concern’, in a sense, means we want them to stop the deal,” Onodera told reporters following his meeting with Le Drian. “The world is highly concerned about Ukraine and we are worried about the recent military buildup in Russia’s Far East. If the ship is deployed to its namesake, that would be something that makes the whole world concerned.”
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:52:12 +0000