II. Statement by Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa

1. Overview of the G-7 Plus One Meeting

Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa: Compared to the G-7 meeting with President Yeltsin last year in Munich, we developed our consultations to a wide-ranging area of cooperation. The G-7 Heads of State and Government agreed to invite President Yeltsin next year as well to the Summit Meeting in Italy in the same format. The G-7 leaders and President Yeltsin conducted an exchange of views on international issues of high common interest to both the G-7 and Russia as partners for world peace and stability which require adequate communication between us. We also covered such areas as the Bosnia-Herzegovina situation as well as the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. President Bill Clinton of the United States led off the political discussion, and expressed, as also reflected in the Political Declaration, the hope that President Yeltsin of Russia would promote diplomacy based on the principle of law and justice, and continue to play a constructive and responsible role in the international community. President Clinton, also in his lead-off remarks, referred to the importance of complete normalization of relations between Japan and Russia. The G-7 leaders supported the reform efforts of President Yeltsin and also expressed the hope that a new constitution would be adopted successfully and that a democratic and stable Russia would emerge. At the meeting this time, the G-7 leaders reaffirmed their continued support for political, economic and diplomatic reform of Russia. On the economic side, Chancellor Kohl led the discussion. Following that, all the G-7 leaders welcomed the continuing courageous reform efforts with the support of the Russian people in spite of the numerous difficulties experienced in the economic area. While still reaffirming their support for the self-help efforts of Russia, they stressed the need to continue the incessant efforts on the Russian side for their economic reform. With regard to support for Russia, since the April meeting of the G-7 ministers, there have been some follow-up developments, and the following major points were stated in our discussions with President Yeltsin this afternoon.

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All contents copyright ©, 1996. This is an unofficial transcript prepared in Tokyo by Urban Connections, Inc.. Urban Connections is the source and sole owner of rights to these texts, which appear here with its permission.