Media: mention of the opening of the NATO office in Tokyo was removed from the final statement

From the final statement of NATO, the mention of the continuation of the dialogue on the opening of an office of the alliance in Japanese Tokyo was removed, reported The Nikkei newspaper, citing sources. The adoption of the statement is planned at the end of the summit in Vilnius.

July 10 Japanese newspaper wrote about NATO’s intention to postpone the decision to open an office in Tokyo until at least autumn. According to the newspaper, an agreement on the issue of opening a representative office could not be reached because of France, which “values ​​its relations with China.”

In addition to plans for the development of economic cooperation, Paris believes that Beijing can play a role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine, the Nikkei interlocutors specified.

The NATO summit takes place from 11 to 12 July in Vilnius. It was reported that a number of important decisions would be made during the event, and the countries would also discuss Ukraine’s entry into NATO. In particular, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the speech of NATO countries with a unified position on Ukraine’s membership in the organization, as well as the creation of the Ukraine-NATO Council (NAC), the first meeting of which is to be held on July 12.

Former US President Joe Biden declaredthat the United States supports the wording proposed by Stoltenberg on the future membership of Ukraine in the alliance. At the same time, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the wording of the Secretary General on simplified entry into the organization. The Ukrainian president was outraged by the lack of deadlines for both the invitation and the country’s membership. The Ukrainian leader concluded that the NATO countries are not ready for such a step, calling the “uncertainty” of the alliance a weakness.