TOKYO, September 2. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to hold "a heart-to-heart talk" with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok with a view to making progress in solving the problem of a peace treaty and the territorial dispute between the two states, Abe told reporters on the eve of his trip to Vladivostok on Friday to attend the Eastern Economic Forum, and meet the Russian president.
"I hope to have a heart-to-heart talk with President Putin to move forward on the issue of a peace treaty and the Northern Territories," Abe told reporters in Tokyo ahead of his departure for Vladivostok, referring to the Japanese name for the isles that Russia calls the Southern Kurils, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Japanese prime minister wants to invite Putin to his hometown
Shinzo Abe would like Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit this year the Yamaguchi prefecture - the hometown of the Japanese government head.
On Putin’s visit to Japan, Abe said, "If it is possible I would like to invite (Putin) to my hometown in Yamaguchi and have a solid conversation." Abe’s family has lived for generations in the western Japan prefecture and his electoral constituency is located there, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Vladivostok with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday and meet with residents of the priority development territories. The meeting of Putin and Abe will take place at the Eastern Economic Forum venue on the Russky Island where on September 3 the two leaders, as well as President of South Korea Park Geun-hye, will speak at a plenary session.
This is the second visit of the Japanese prime minister to Russia this year, his previous talks with Putin were held in Sochi in early May.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 2 on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to discuss bilateral ties, including preparations for his visit to Japan at the end of the year. "Talks with the Japanese prime minister are due on the evening of September 2," Ushakov said, noting that first they will meet in a narrow format to discuss strategic issues of bilateral ties and "sensitive international problems". This will be followed by a meeting with the participation of the delegations that will include ministers and business executives.
"Everybody knows that Putin’s long delayed visit to Japan is due in December, and I think that it is the agenda of this visit that will be discussed at the meeting in Vladivostok," he said. "The timeframe of the visit has been coordinated," but will be announced by agreement with the Japanese side, Ushakov said.
Ushakov said Putin and Abe were expected to have "an intensive discussion on bilateral trade-economic, political issues, as well as on international matters". "This will be a good warm-up ahead of the already scheduled visit of our president to Japan in December," he went on.
"We can expect that the conversation will touch upon the issue of a peace treaty. The Russian side is ready to continue negotiations on the issue," Ushakov said, noting that the recent round of consultations between the two countries’ foreign ministries was held in Tokyo on June 22 and then in Moscow on August 26.