MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Tokyo must take the first step in establishing contact with the Russian side by abandoning its hostile policy toward Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko noted in an interview with TASS.

"I would like to remind you that it was Tokyo that in February 2022, to please Western solidarity, initiated a hostile sanctions policy against our country, which it continues to this day," Rudenko stressed. "Therefore, Japan itself must take the first step toward revising this policy, as we have repeatedly stated through diplomatic channels and in conversations with Japanese political figures, including lawmaker [Muneo] Suzuki."

In May, lawmaker Muneo Suzuki of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) visited Russia, where, following a meeting with Rudenko, he told reporters that the two sides considered the possibility of holding a meeting of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila in July, should the Japanese side request such a meeting.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also noted that "Tokyo is open to dialogue with Moscow," but has no specific plans for such contacts yet. Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeshi Akahori expressed a similar position to TASS in early July. Following the meeting between Rudenko and Suzuki, the Russian side stated that resuming interstate contacts required the Japanese authorities to abandon their chosen anti-Russian course, supported by concrete measures, as it does not serve the interests of Japan and its people.