Tokyo, May 19 (UNI) Japan considers contacts between the United States and Russia, including the upcoming phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, as "extremely important," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday.
"According to President Trump's social media post, he will have a phone conversation with President Putin at 10 a.m. US time, 11 p.m. Tokyo time [14:00 GMT] and then with [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. For the situation in Ukraine, US-Russian contacts, including the upcoming conversation, are extremely important. We are closely following their development with great interest," Hayashi told a media briefing.
On Saturday, Trump said on Truth Social that he was planning to speak by phone to Putin on May 19. He added that he would then have talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various members of the NATO military alliance.
UNI SPUTNIK GNK