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Japan’s PM to discuss Syria and other pressing global issues during Russia visit

He added that "the situation around Syria will not affect directly the talks on signing a peace treaty, which is a bilateral Japanese-Russian issue."

TOKYO, April 13. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to discuss the situation in Syria and other international issues during his visit to Rusia scheduled for late April, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Thursday.

"I think the prime minister will raise the issues of the situation in the world, including the state of affairs in Syria during his visit to Russia," he said. Suga noted that Japan will take into account the agreements reached by the G7 foreign ministers at a recent meeting in Italy. However, he declined to comment on the details of the meeting.

He added that "the situation around Syria will not affect directly the talks on signing a peace treaty, which is a bilateral Japanese-Russian issue."

The final declaration adopted following the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting noted that Russia has the potential to help find a solution to the Syrian crisis and restore stability in that country as well as in the fight against terrorism.

Former Japanese MP Muneo Suzuki who maintains contacts with the Japanese premier said after a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Murgolov held in Moscow on Tuesday that Abe will pay a visit to Russia on April 27-28. Prior to that, the prime minister confirmed his intention to visit Russia at the end of April saying that it will not be easy to solve the peace treaty problem. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the visit is due to take place in late April.

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