Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and his British counterpart, Liz Truss, shake hands before their first meeting in New York on Sept. 20. (Sayuri Ide)

NEW YORK--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his British counterpart, Liz Truss, reaffirmed their nations’ ties along with discussing the Ukraine crisis in their first meeting held here on Sept. 20. 

During the meeting, they strongly criticized the announcements of pro-Russian separatists in eastern and southern Ukraine that they would hold referendums on becoming part of Russia.

The two leaders agreed that the announcements are unacceptable as they will further harm Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Their lunch meeting lasted about an hour, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

Kishida is in New York to attend a U.N. General Assembly session. Truss, who will also attend the session, became Britain’s prime minister on Sept. 6.

The prime ministers also confirmed the importance of relations between the two countries. They agreed that Japan and Britain should sign a reciprocal access agreement soon.

The agreement will simplify entry procedures for when Japan’s Self-Defense Forces or Britain’s armed forces visit each other’s countries.

The two countries reached a broad agreement on the pact in May.

The prime ministers agreed that their countries should accelerate discussions on developing next-generation fighter aircraft.

They also discussed procedures for Britain to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

The two prime ministers were originally scheduled to have a telephone conference on Sept. 9, but it was canceled after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In the meeting, Kishida expressed his condolences for the queen, who died at age 96 on Sept. 8.

Truss conveyed her sympathy for the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed in July in Nara while giving a campaign speech for the Upper House election.

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