Russia, Japan call for broader international cooperation

MOSCOW, June 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and Japan consider it important to broaden international cooperation and build up the UN central role in world affairs "for the settlement of the problematic situations and ensuring the security and the sustainable stability in the world," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday after the consultations between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko and the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The interlocutors discussed "the whole range of issues connected with the activity of the UN Human Rights Council." Japanese diplomats drew attention to their Human Security Concept. The Russian side emphasized that "the concept needs further discussion, as it is important for most countries so that this initiative would be taken as a pretext for undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries."
The sides "discussed the situation around Kosovo and the
Georgian-Abkhazian conflict settlement, the situation in Afghanistan, the nuclear non-proliferation regarding the Iranian nuclear program and the North Korean nuclear problem." The diplomats also discussed the problems of climate changes and the global food crisis.
Yakovenko visited the UN University with the head office in Tokyo and discussed the prospects of closer cooperation with Russian higher
educational institutions and research centers.