KYIV, June 8 – Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk made a statement in Tokyo on Thursday that Ukraine is seeking to obtain active assistance from Japan, in its role as host country for the upcoming G7 conference, to settle the Chernobyl power plant closure, Interfax-Ukraine learned at the press service of the Foreign Ministry.
The next G7 summit is scheduled for July on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
During his visit in Tokyo, Tarasyuk met with U.S. President Bill Clinton, Russian vice-premier Viktor Khristenko, and high-ranking officials from Canada and Austria. Interfax reports that discussions focused on bilateral cooperation with these countries, mainly in economic activities.
During U.S. President Bill Clinton's six-hour trip to Kyiv on June 5, Kuchma announced Chernobyl's last functioning reactor would be closed on December 15, 2000.
