VLADIVOSTOK, September 2. /TASS/. The Kremlin does not expect that progress on the territorial issue could be made during the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.
"We can hardly expect progress on the territorial issue to be made during today’s meeting," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters.
He noted that "continuous and detailed expert work" and compromise are needed to solve this difficult issue. Peskov recalled that Putin earlier had said he hoped to find such a compromise.
The Kremlin spokesman noted that several rounds of talks at top diplomatic levels had been held, adding that this work will continue.
"However, the arrival of Prime Minister Abe at the Economic Forum in Vladivostok is a sign of interest by our Japanese colleagues in developing trade and economic cooperation in this region, - in Russia’s Far East - and firm confidence in this region’s economic potential," Peskov said. He also described as important the fact that Moscow and Tokyo are currently working to specify and begin the implementation of the eight-point cooperation plan, which Abe handed over to Putin during the May negotiations in Sochi.
"We believe that, for all intents and purposes, today’s talks will be an important milestone in terms of gearing up for Putin’s full-scale visit to Japan," Peskov added.