BRISBANE, November 16. /TASS/. Head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker expressed hope the dialogue with Russia will favour improvement of the situation in Ukraine. Japan’s Kiodo reports Juncker made the statement after his meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Australia’s Brisbane on Sunday.

“Our intention is to press Russia and to have dialogue with it,” Abe said.

During the talks, Japan’s prime minister and head of the European Commission also discussed security in the Asian region and confirmed the intention to sign before end of 2015 an agreement on free trade area between Japan and the European Commission.