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Japanese FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Strategic Partnership with Saudi Arabia, Concerns Over Syrian Stalemate

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Japanese FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Strategic Partnership with Saudi Arabia, Concerns Over Syrian Stalemate

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (Asharq Al-Awsat).

In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that Saudi Arabia “is not only the cornerstone of stability in the Middle East but also an important partner for us for energy security in Japan,” noting that Tokyo will continue to “make further progress” in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

On Sunday, Motegi will kick-start from Egypt a Middle East tour that includes seven countries. The trip will continue until Aug. 24.

The visit aims to renew the commitment of “Japan, which has established strong relations with the countries of the Middle East for several years, to peace and prosperity in the region, and the importance of the international system based on the rule of law,” according to a statement.

“We plan to discuss cooperation for regional stability,” the minister told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that he would review a series of topics with the aim of “developing a unique and special diplomacy in Japan, based on the old and well-established friendship.”

Motegi noted that Japan was making efforts with Iran, which is included in his visit, to urge Tehran to “reduce tensions and work to stabilize the situation” in the Middle East, pointing to six conversations he held with former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif directly and over the phone.

Asked about the Japanese policy towards the Middle East, he said: “The Middle East is an important region for Japan for energy security, and we have established good relations with it over many years through various cooperation. And now, I have come to visit the region with the intent of developing unique and special diplomacy for Japan, building on the long-standing and well-established friendship.”

On the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians, the Japanese foreign minister replied: “I will first talk about peace in the Middle East. Jerusalem is a place where various religious and ethnic conflicts have persisted throughout history and never ceased, and this was also due to the various conflicts between countries outside the region. I am sure that there are efforts to build confidence that can only be achieved through Japan, which has no such negative historical legacy. An example is the ‘Peace and Prosperity Corridor’ initiative, which Japan is promoting in cooperation with Israel and Jordan, as an original and exclusive initiative of its own.”

He continued: “The main project of this initiative, the Jericho Agricultural Industrial City Project (JAIP), supports the robust development of the self-reliant Palestinian economy, by increasing employment opportunities for Palestinians.”

On Syrian, Motegi expressed concern over the stagnant situation in the country.

He emphasized the need to re-establish diplomatic efforts based on dialogue and cooperation, saying that during this visit to the Middle East, he would exchange views with Arab countries and discuss ways to improve the situation in Syria, and thus the stability of the entire region.

On what can Japan offer to connect the countries of the region, the senior official said his country would vigorously promote diplomacy that only Japan can carry out based on the trust gained in the countries of the Middle East.

“I think that the most important thing at present when these major powers and emerging powers are competing with each other, is not trying to impose the specific viewpoint through power, but rather seeking ways to find solutions according to the rules of the international community, and also through the creation of new rules that respond to various changes such as economic, social and technological innovation,” Motegi said, in response to a question about the future of international forces in the Middle East.

Regarding his opinion on the Japanese relations with the Gulf States, in particular Saudi Arabia, the foreign minister said that Japan has established good relations with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, noting that the Kingdom, which plays an important role in the G20, “is not only a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East but also an important partner for us for energy security in Japan.”

“Japan supports the non-dependence on oil, industrial diversification, and economic and social reforms promoted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the framework of the Japan-Saudi Vision 2030 […]. We will continue our efforts to achieve further progress in the strategic partnership between the two countries in broad fields,” he underlined.

On the role that Japan could play with Iran, Motegi stressed that his country could openly exchange views with Iran by taking advantage of their long-standing and traditional friendship.

“For example, when former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Iran during the heightened tensions in the Middle East, he directly urged Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to ease tensions and stabilize the situation. Since then, mutual communication continues at the level of leaders and foreign ministers, and since I assumed my position as foreign minister, I have had 6 conversations with the Iranian foreign minister, directly and by phone,” he said.

Japan intends to cooperate closely with the concerned countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, to actively contribute to easing tensions and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, taking advantage of its unique and special position, the minister concluded.

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Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
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Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.