Russia, Japan to improve interaction between warships in Gulf of Aden - Shoigu
TOKYO. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Russia and Japan will improve interaction between their warships in the Gulf of Aden, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a press conference following negotiations in the 2+2 format between the Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers.
"We share our Japanese counterparts' opinion on the need to coordinate efforts in combating international terrorism and piracy. We have proposed stepping up interaction between Russian and Japanese ships on combat duty in the Horn of Africa area," Shoigu said.
"Our sailors could conduct joint exercises there to practice exchange of information and provision of mutual assistance," he said.
"We view this as one of the principal instruments to improve confidence between our countries and between our armed forces," he said.
Russia was also interested in being familiarized with the Japanese plans to expand its participation in peacekeeping operations under the UN auspices, he said.