Japanese foreign minister offers Lavrov to discuss preparations for summit visits, peace treaty prospects
TOKYO. April 15 (Interfax) - The foreign ministers of Russia and Japan, Sergei Lavrov and Fumio Kishida, are holding negotiations in Tokyo on Friday.
The foreign ministers shook hands before the meeting started.
Kishida said he was glad to welcome Lavrov to Japan. "I believe that the continuation of our contacts is significant," the Japanese foreign minister said. Inter-parliamentary contacts have been active, and State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin is expected to visit Japan in June, he said.
The minister called today's meeting important and said that Tokyo wanted to negotiate preparations for summit visits and to discuss prospects for the signing of the peace treaty.
"We value our neighborly relations and our contacts, which have become regular, very much," Lavrov said in reply.
"I would like to use our good relationship to prepare well the next meeting of the kind [between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe]," the Russian foreign minister said.
In his words, Moscow intends to develop dialogue with Tokyo on every track and in every area.