Japan pledged Thursday to join international efforts to stop the violence by ethnic Albanian rebels on the borders of Macedonia.
The promise was made when Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono made a telephone call to his German counterpart Joschka Fischer, a foreign ministry official said.
In the 20-minute conversation, Fischer said European countries had agreed on the importance of attaining peace in Macedonia by restraining the Albanian guerrillas, the official said.
"It is necessary for the international community to make concerted efforts to convince ethnic Albanian leaders that changes to the national boundary by use of force will not be condoned," Fishcher was quoted as saying.
Kono said Japan would deal with the matter "in a similar direction," according to the official.
The telephone call was made under an agreement on bilateral cooperation, which was made by the two foreign ministers when they met in Tokyo last October.
The accord covers areas of cooperation between the two countries such as concerted contributions to regional and global peace and stability – TOKYO (AFP)
