MOSCOW, March 12, /ITAR-TASS/. The implementation of plans mapped out by the leaders of Russia and Japan should not depend on artificially created external factors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with Shotaro Yachi, head of Japan’s National Security Council, on Wednesday, March 12.
“Contacts were mapped out at the top level in various formats this year. We would like these contacts not only to take place but also produce tangible results,” Lavrov said.
“We think that the plans mapped out by our leaders are not only valuable all by themselves, but it is our deep conviction that their implementation should not depend on artificially created external factors,” the minister said.
“On the whole, international security issues are growing increasingly acute in a number of areas, and we use the inter-ministerial dialogue for correlating approaches,” Lavrov said.
In his opinion “this will become a new important format in relations between our countries.”
Lavrov stressed the importance of developing cooperation between Russia and Japan in the 2+2 format. “I am confident that the multitude of formats, many of which were launched by our Japanese neighbours, will develop into a new quality of our joint work in the international arena,” the minister said.
Yachi noted that Prime Minister Abe attached special significance to a trusting relationship with President Vladimir Putin and would like relations between the two countries to develop on the basis of trust in the future.
He stressed the importance of direct dialogue for exchanging opinions. Yachi said one of the purposes of his visit was to foster contacts with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
Abe also instructed him to exchange opinions on various issues with members of the Russian government.