Russia, Japan to hold another round of consultations on joint economic activities in Southern Kurils

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. The second round of consultations between Russian and Japanese senior diplomats on issues of establishing joint economic activities in the Southern Kuril islands will be held in Moscow on August 17. Issues of strategic stability will be in focus on August 18. Agreements to organize this round of consultations were reached at a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Taro Kono of Japan, on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Manila on August 7, the Russian foreign ministry said earlier. "The two sides agreed to hold another round of consultations on the joint economic activity on the Southern Kuril Islands on August 17 in Moscow and continue the Russian-Japanese dialogue on strategic stability at the level of deputy foreign ministers (August 18, Moscow)," the ministry said. The two countries adopted a joint statement after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan on December 15-16, 2016, and his meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It noted that the beginning of consultations on the joint economic activity on the southern Kuril Islands could be an important step towards signing a peace treaty. The first Russian-Japanese consultations between the two countries’ deputy foreign ministers, Igor Morgulov of Russia and Takeo Akiba of Japan, were held in Tokyo in March. According to the Japanese media, each side offered about 30 initiatives, many of which coincided. Among them were the construction of seafood processing plants and geothermal stations, housing construction and organization of sea voyages. A delegation of Japanese government officials and businessmen visited the Southern Kuril islands in late June-early July to explore possibilities for joint activities. Today’s round of consultations precedes the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok scheduled for September. According to Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, prospects for joint economic activities will be discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the forum’s margins. Another topic of the Russian-Japanese consultations is strategic stability problems. Russia’s delegation to the strategic stability consultations is traditionally led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The previous such meeting was held in July 2016 when the sides discussed «current issues of the international agenda, as well as security efforts in various regions of the world." The August 18 consultations will be held on the backdrop of the difficult situation on the Korean Peninsula. The situation in the Korean Peninsula remains extremely tense amid Pyongyang’s vigorous effort to develop a missile program. In July, North Korea made two test launches of ballistic missiles that provoked sharp reaction from the United States, Japan and South Korea. After Washington’s bellicose statements, Pyongyang said it had developed a plan of launching four missiles towards the island of Guam seeking to demonstrate its capability of delivering a preemptive strike on US military targets. However, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted on Wednesday, Washington and Pyongyang had toned down their rhetoric over situation on the Korean Peninsula. Read more