The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Japan of undermining the long-standing economic ties between Central Asia countries and Russia.
As follows from the official website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on December 24 this year. Tokyo is scheduled to hold a face-to-face meeting of the Central Asia-Japan dialogue at the level of foreign ministers, she said.
“We respect the intention of our Central Asian neighbors to advance cooperation with the Asia-Pacific states, to tap their potential to address social and economic problems. However, they could not but pay attention to the goals that official Tokyo itself declares in relation to this event. Judging by the rhetoric of the Japanese leaders at the stage of its preparation, they are not so much interested in mutually beneficial cooperation as, as they say, "rallying the world community, including the Central Asian countries, against Russia," she added.
She noted that in practice, Tokyo's economic line in relation to the Central Asian states, apparently ordered by Washington, has long been aimed at undermining the extensive economic ties that have been formed over many years with the Russian Federation. It seems that, having lost the ability to pursue an independent policy and completely switched to serving foreign interests, Japan is seeking to impose the same role on other countries in order to increase all-round pressure on Russia.
