No meeting between Dick Cheney

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Tokyo, Feb 12: The United States has asked Japan not to arrange a meeting between U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma, an apparent response to Kyuma's criticism of US policy, Kyodo news agency said today.

Last month, Kyuma irked the US administration by saying the United States was wrong to start the war in Iraq. He also criticised Washington's handling of the relocation of a US base in Japan.

According to US and Japanese sources quoted by Kyodo, Cheney is scheduled to meet top officers of Japan's Self-Defence Forces during a visit to Japan from January 20, but a meeting with Kyuma may not be arranged because of ''strong displeasure'' over his remarks.

Cheney will also meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso.

Defence Ministry and US Embassy officials were not available for comment.

Kyuma has angered the United States with a string of comments over the past few months.

As well as saying Washington was wrong to go to war in Iraq he also criticised it for not having a post-war gameplan. He later played down his comments, saying they might have appeared stronger than intended in translation.

Aso has also criticised US policy in Iraq, with media reports last week quoting him as saying US actions after the initial fighting in 2003 were ''immature''.

But the sources said the remarks would not affect future diplomatic plans, such as the visit by Abe to the United States that is widely expected to take place in late April or early May, Kyodo added.

Reuters

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