Japan Prime Minister calls for summit with ChinaJuly 26, 2013 - 16:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Friday, July 26, for a leaders' summit or a foreign ministers' meeting between his country and China as soon as possible, drawing a cool reaction from Beijing which accused Japan of lacking sincerity, Reuters reported. Sino-Japanese ties, often fragile, have been seriously strained since September when a territorial row over tiny islands in the East China Sea flared. Concerns that the conservative Japanese leader wants to recast Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone have added to the tensions. "I think there should be a summit meeting and also a foreign ministers meeting as soon as possible ... I think such meetings should be held without pre-conditions," Abe said in response to a question at an academic conference in Singapore, the second stop on a trip that includes Malaysia and the Philippines. China's Foreign Ministry said its door was always open for talks, but that the problem lay in Japan's attitude. "The crux of the matter at present is Japan's unwillingness to face up to the serious problems which exist in Sino-Japan relations and it is avoiding having earnest talks and consultations with China," the ministry said in a faxed statement to Reuters. Japan, it said, should "stop using empty slogans about so-called dialogue to gloss over disagreements". Earlier on Friday, the defense ministry in Tokyo issued a policy report repeating Japanese concerns about China's military build-up and its activities near the islands. China's Foreign Ministry said it hoped Japan would respect the concerns of neighboring countries and "take the path of peaceful development and not artificially create and exaggerate tensions". In his remarks, Abe also said that ties between Asia's two biggest economies were vital. Both, he said, benefitted from strong economic ties. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |