Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, had a brief telephone conversation on Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart, Minister Javad Zarif, to ask for the support of the Islamic Republic.MOSCOW, January 22 (Sputnik) Japan is seeking assistance fromIranian authorities insecuring the release oftwo ofits nationals, captured inSyria bythe violent Islamic State (IS) group, the Japanese Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
A spokesperson forthe ministry announced that their Minister forForeign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, had a brief telephone conversation onWednesday withhis Iranian counterpart, Minister Javad Zarif, toask forthe support ofthe Islamic Republic, which is considered tohold weight inMiddle Eastern affairs.
A list ofkey points discussed is available onthe Japanese Foreign Ministry's webpage.
"Japan would liketo ask forthe support ofthe Iranian government ingathering information onfacts ofthe situation and the cooperation towardsearly release ofthe Japanese nationals," the statement read. It referred toa cooperation deal reached atlast year's summit meeting betweenJapan and Iran.
The captives are thought tobe Haruna Yukawa, the founder ofa private security firm, and Kenji Goto, a freelance journalist; both ofwhom were abducted inSyria last year.
Zarif said he "strongly condemned" the IS group and pledged to "continue our discussions towardsthe peace and stability ofthe Middle East," the ministry relayed.
A video available online purporting toshow two Japanese captives was released byIslamic State onTuesday. A man, who appears inthe footage besidethe kneeling hostages, threatens tokill the captives unless a $200-million ransom is paid bythe Japanese government.
The sum ofthe ransom corresponds tothe amount previously pledged byPrime Minister Shinzo Abe tofinance countries fighting againstthe IS insurgency.
By Sputnik News
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