TOKYO, April 22. /TASS/. Japan and Russia want to find a mutually beneficial framework of joint practical activity on the South Kuril Islands, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said on Monday before the start of negotiations in Tokyo with his Japanese colleague Takeo Mori.

"We want to find mutually beneficial schemes of joint practical activity that would give an impetus to the economic cooperation between regions and would make a real contribution to strengthening the neighborly and trusting atmosphere between our states," he said. Morgulov expressed his hope that the sides will be able to resolve all difficult issues and reach practical results if they agree to develop multilateral practical cooperation.

Morgulov added that these are the fifth consultations on joint economic activity on the South Kuril Islands.

For his part, Takeo Mori expressed his hope that the upcoming consultations will be fruitful and will help Russia and Japan to achieve progress on the territorial issue, as well as the issue of the peace treaty. "Leaders of Japan and Russia who understand the value of strategic development of the relations between Japan and Russia present unprecedented opportunities for both countries," he said.

Putin and Abe agreed at their meeting in Singapore on November 14, 2018, to intensify Russian-Japanese talks on concluding a peace treaty based on the Joint Declaration signed on October 19, 1956. Later in December, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the two leaders announced establishing a new peace treaty negotiation mechanism. The two countries’ top diplomats Sergey Lavrov and Taro Kono were tasked were tasked with overseeing its work.