Tokyo, April 8: The Japanese government is mulling the expulsion of some Russian diplomats in light of the events in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Japanese broadcaster Fuji said on Friday, citing sources. According to the broadcaster’s source in the government, Tokyo had a cautious position on the Russian diplomats expulsion before but the Bucha tragedy opened “another dimension.”
Until now, the precedents when Japan declared foreign diplomats persona non grata were rare. A South Korean diplomat was expelled from Japan in 1973, an Ivorian diplomat in 2006, and the Syrian ambassador in 2012. Last week, reports emerged of mass civilian killings in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev controlled by the Russian forces in March. Ukraine blamed the civilian deaths on the departed Russian forces.
A number of Western countries announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats. Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia called the presented evidence of Bucha killings a forgery and contended that radical Ukrainian forces have been committing abuses against civilians as well as prisoners of war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia categorically rejects any accusations of involvement in the killing of civilians in Bucha.
UNI/SPUTNIK
