Japan's Abe starts a Gulf tour from Saudi Arabia, hoping to ease tensions
Japan's premier arrived on Saturday in Saudi Arabia at the startof a Gulf tour during which he hopes to ease tensions after the USkilled a top Iranian general.
The official Saudi news agency SPA said Prime Minister ShinzoAbe and his delegation were received by senior officials including EconomyMinister Mohammed al-Tuwaijri.
Duringhis five-day tour, Abe will also visit the United Arab Emirates and Oman, wherea new ruler was sworn in on Saturday following the death of modernday Oman's founding father Sultan Qaboos.
Abe's Gulf trip had initially been thrown into doubt afterTehran responded to the US' January 3 killing of Qassem Soleimani by launchinga barrage of missiles at bases hosting American troops in Iraq.
The escalation prompted fears of an all-out war.
Those fears have subsided however after US President DonaldTrump said Iran appeared to be standing down after targeting the US bases inIraq.
"To avoid further escalation of the tense situation in theMiddle East, (Abe) will exchange opinions with the three countries" he isvisiting, Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said ahead of the visit.
"In each of the countries, we plan to ask for cooperation inensuring a stable energy supply and the safety of vessels," he added.
Japanlast month announced it would deploy a military vessel and two patrolplanes to the region to protect its shipping interests.
Abe has in recent months tried to carve out a role as mediatorbetween Japan's ally Washington and Tehran, with which Tokyo has longstandingties.
