TOKYO, February 04. /ITAR-TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees relations with Russia as very promising and expects to strengthen them further at his upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

“I will attend the Winter Olympics opening ceremony,” the prime minister said during debates at the lower house of parliament’s budget commission. “In my opinion, a new meeting with President Putin will help strengthen our personal relations of trust. I believe relations between Japan and Russia have their biggest potentials at the moment. The situation in Asia and the Pacific Ocean is changing a lot at the moment, and in these conditions the strengthening of ties with Russia not only meets the interests of our countries, but also has major importance for the region,” Shinzo Abe said.

“The upcoming meeting with President Putin in Sochi will be the fifth during my premiership,” he reminded parliamentarians. “We seek to develop cooperation with Russia in all spheres, to improve the general level of relations, which will help us progress also at talks on a peace treaty,” he added.

The prime minister also said he wanted to use Sochi’s experience in preparations for the Summer Olympics that Tokyo will host in 2020.