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Russia’s General Staff to step up contacts with Japanese counterpart

“We agreed on regular exchanges of visits, including those at the defence minister level,” Russian Defence Minister added

TOKYO, November 2 (Itar-Tass) - The General Staff of Russia’s armed forces and the Staff of Japan’s Self-Defence Force have agreed to step up bilateral contacts, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a news conference following two-plus-two format talks on Saturday.

“An agreement has been reached to step up contacts between Russia’s General Staff and the staff of Japan’s Self-Defence Force. In the longer term we shall consider the possibility of closer interaction by the Air Force and Naval commands.”

Shoigu said he was satisfied over the results of the just-ended talks by and large.

“We regard the explanations of Japan’s new approaches to maintaining its national security and defences our counterparts offered as a contribution to promoting greater openness and trust in bilateral relations,” Shoigu said.

“We agreed on regular exchanges of visits, including those at the defence minister level,” he added.

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