MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe managed to establish stable confidential relations, Japanese Ambassador to Russia Toyohisa Kozuki told TASS in an interview.
He noted that the meeting between the leaders scheduled for December 1 in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit will become the 24th. "Such a frequent and open dialogue at the top level is a rarity. Thanks to this close dialogue, firm personal relations of trust were formed, and a positive trend emerged in the development of Japanese-Russian relations," the diplomat stressed.
"The leaders agreed that at the beginning of the next year Prime Minister Abe will visit Russia, but the date of the visit is being coordinated by the diplomatic missions of the two countries," the ambassador went on. "The Japanese and Russian leaders will also meet at the G20 summit, that will be held in June next year in Osaka. A closing ceremony for the Japan-Russia cross-culture year will also be held then with the two leaders’ participation."
Kozuki noted that bilateral contacts both on the top and high levels are gradually becoming active. He reiterated that in July consultations in the ‘two plus two’ format were held with the participation of the foreign and defense ministers, and on November 23 the seventh meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono was held in Rome. "I hope that the continuation of such frequent high-level contacts will help further consolidate our relations," the ambassador said.