12:28, 9 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan had a meeting with Japan’s Minister of Justice Yōko Kamikawa while in Kyoto for the 14th UNODC Congress, the justice ministry said in a news release.

Badasyan thanked for the hospitality and invitation to the congress and noted that Armenia and Japan have many similarities, such as ancient civilization, rich culture and innovative spirit. He highly appreciated Japan’s stance in the UNHRC over the matter of the return of Armenian PoWs, as well as the Japanese government’s 3,6 million dollar assistance to Armenia for eliminating the consequences of the 2020 war.

Speaking about the Turkey-sponsored large-scale Azerbaijani military aggression against Artsakh in 2020, Badasyan noted that during the 44 days of war the Armenian people witnessed gross violations of international conventions committed by the Azeri forces.

“Currently, the issue of concern for us all is the return of the Armenian prisoners of war. Azerbaijan refuses to return them contrary to the terms of the ceasefire agreement. This is a gross violation by Azerbaijan of the Geneva Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War,” Badasyan said.

Minister Kamikawa thanked Badasyan for participating in the Congress and attached importance to effective bilateral cooperation and expressed readiness to continue it. She expressed hope that the Kyoto declaration of the Congress will become a guideline for countries for strengthening the rule of law and assured that Japan – as a country presiding over the congress – will continue to contribute to deepening of rule of law.

The ministers underscored that the high-level mutual contacts are a good basis for deepening bilateral cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan