ISTANBUL

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday called for an "early and comprehensive" ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Ishiba said an “early comprehensive ceasefire and the realization of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine” are shared goals, and urged Western nations to stand united to achieve them, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

He made these remarks during the Virtual Leaders Meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine.

Ishiba praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire while also "strongly" urging Russia to take positive steps ahead of the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska on Friday.

He expressed "a strong sense of crisis that what is happening in Ukraine could also happen in East Asia," the statement added.

The premier additionally called Russia and North Korea's military cooperation "a matter of global security concerns."