All news

Foreign ministers of Russia, Japan will discuss Putin’s upcoming visit to Tokyo

The meeting will be the final stage of preparations for the official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tokyo in December 14-15
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida will hold talks in Moscow on Saturday. The meeting will be the final stage of preparations for the official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tokyo in December 14-15. High on the agenda of the ministerial meeting are issues of signing a peace treaty and joint bilateral projects.

Putin earlier met with the Japanese foreign minister in St. Petersburg. Kishida brought a message from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the Russian president handed him a response document.

"On behalf of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the minister expressed hope that the president’s visit will be maximally productive and successful," deputy press secretary of the diplomatic mission Masato Otaka told TASS. "The sides discussed the current condition of bilateral relations, they also exchanged opinions on the topic of the peace treaty," he added.

Range of issues

The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes to hold with Japanese partners "a comprehensive discussion of the whole range of issues of mutual interest." The sides will exchange opinions on the bilateral dossier, with an emphasis on further expanding political dialogue and economic cooperation, as well as on strengthening cooperation in international affairs.

"We intend to cooperate with Japan, non-permanent member of UN Security Counil in 2016-2017, on key issues on regional and international agenda," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Among relevant issues are security in the Asia Pacific, including in the context of the complicated situation on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the formation of new security architecture in the region," the ministry added.