Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Japan can do more to help push forward the Israel-Palestine peace talks as Tokyo seeks to play a bigger role in promoting peace in the Middle East.<\/b>
\nMANAMA \u2013 Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Japan can do more to help push forward the Israel-Palestine peace talks as the country seeks to play a bigger role in promoting peace in the Middle East.
\u201cJapan can make more contributions for the stability of the Middle East,\u201d Kono said in a speech to a security forum Saturday in Bahrain, the first stop of his trip to the Middle East and Europe. He he did not elaborate on what the contributions will be.
Kono, the first Japanese foreign minister to ever visit Bahrain, met earlier in the day with his counterpart, Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, and exchanged views on unrest in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories following U. S. President Donald Trump\u2019s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital, Japanese officials said.
Among other Group of Seven nations, Britain, France, Italy and Germany expressed disagreement with or concern about the U. S. decision, but Kono has said Japan, a U. S. ally, \u201cappreciates President Trump\u2019s strong commitment to promoting a permanent peace agreement and his support for a two-state solution.\u201d
Kono visited the United Arab Emirates on Sunday before moving on to Paris.
As for the Iraqi military\u2019s declaration of an end to the fight against the Islamic State extremist group, Kono said in a statement issued Sunday the country\u2019s liberation from it is an achievement made possible by the Iraqi people\u2019s unity to overcome ethnic and religious differences.
\u201cJapan wants to support as much as possible the Iraqi people\u2019s efforts to peacefully resolve various domestic issues, based on the (Japanese) Constitution and constructive dialogues, and to prevent a revival of violent extremism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n