In this telegram, Ambassador Kuroda of Japan summarizes the main points of a meeting between Japanese and Syrian foreign ministers where they discuss the growing friendship between Japan and Syria, the American hostages in Lebanon, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shamir’s visit to Japan.
September 27, 1985
Summary of Remarks for Use in Meeting of Japanese and Syrian Foreign Ministers at the United Nations
Secret
Summary of Remarks for Use in Meeting of Japanese and Syrian Foreign Ministers at the United Nations
6. Problem of the Release of the American Hostages
(1) We are grateful for the consideration that you and President Assad showed in August and on the occasion of Special Envoy Nakayama’s visit to your country.
(2) We would like to express our deep respect for the many efforts made by your country for the release of the hostages.
(3) In addition, our country urged Israel, from a humanitarian point of view, to release all the Lebanese prisoners there. Their release took place on the 10th. There is no direct relationship between their release and the problem of the release of the American hostages, but [TN: handwriting illegible] improved the environment for their release.
(4) Both the Government of Japan and I, too, have a strong interest in this matter. We hope henceforth that you and President Assad will work for the prompt release of the remaining hostages. We would appreciate your informing us of developments as they occur.
(5) [TN: section blacked out] appreciate, [TN: section blacked out] think that [TN: section blacked out]
In the notes for a meeting between Japanese and Syrian Foreign Ministers at the UN, Japan urges Syria to continue assisting in the release of the American hostages and assures Syria they are putting pressure on Israel to release the Lebanese hostages held in Israel.
Author(s):
Associated Topics
Document Information
Source
Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, File No. 2017-0631. Translated by Stephen Mercado.
Original Archive
Rights
The History and Public Policy Program welcomes reuse of Digital Archive materials for research and educational purposes. Some documents may be subject to copyright, which is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. When possible, rights holders have been contacted for permission to reproduce their materials.
To enquire about this document's rights status or request permission for commercial use, please contact the History and Public Policy Program at HAPP@wilsoncenter.org.