TOKYO, October 11. /TASS/. The situation in Syria and the Russian air strikes on the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group will not affect preparations for the visit of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to Japan, Kyodo reported on Sunday.
"We are aware the tension in Syria is growing, but the plans [to organise the visit of the Russian president] remain unchanged," Kyodo quoted a source at the Japanese government. Kyodo does not rule out in the current situation Japan’s position "may cause objections from the U.S."
Besides, the agency says, Tokyo now considers a possible meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the Russian president "on the sidelines" of the Asia-Pacific summit in Milano in November. Prior to that, Japan plans to prepare the situation accordingly, including "to gain understanding from the side of the U.S."
Earlier on Sunday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told the NHK TV channel Japan will follow the current international situation while preparing for the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We would like the visit to be organized at the right time, and we intend to monitor the general situation in the world," he said in a program that focused on the recent cabinet reshuffle and the country’s current line of policy. Speaking about relations with other countries, Suga also noted that preparations for the tripartite summit of the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea were "at their final stage."
On September 28, Putin said during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York within the framework of the UN General Assembly session that Moscow and Tokyo had prospects for improving trade whose volume had declined recently. "At the beginning of the meeting I would like to note that we observe more active contacts in various fields. A meeting of the inter-governmental commission has taken place recently for the first time in several years," he said. Putin added that there were contacts between the secretaries of the Security Councils. "However,, unfortunately, our trade declined, but I am sure that there are good prospects, and the fact that there is a great number of joint projects proves that," he said.
For his part, Abe said that he intended to discuss with the Russian president the issue of a peace treaty. "I was re-elected head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, and now we have formed a solid basis for further quiet discussion with Vladimir [Putin] of the problem of a peace treaty. And I am ready to make every effort for the further development of our relations," he said.