Russian top diplomat to visit Vietnam and Japan on March 19-22

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Vietnam and Japan on March 19-22 where he will hold talks with the foreign ministers of these countries, Pham Binh Minh and Taro Kono respectively, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. "On March 19-20, the Russian foreign minister will visit the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; there are scheduled talks with the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of this state, as well as some meetings with the country’s administration," she said. "On March 21-22, Sergey Lavrov will be in Tokyo, where he will meet with Japan’s foreign minister." According to Zakharova, it is planned to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation during the Russian-Japanese talks. "The ministers will also dwell on major issues on the international agenda, including the development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and Syria and cooperation within multilateral formats," the diplomat said, adding that the meeting of the two countries’ ministers will become a key stage in the preparations for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia in May. She also noted that the parties will discuss the state and prospects of bolstering comprehensive strategic partnership during the Russian-Vietnamese contacts, including political dialogue and cooperation in the trade-economic, science-technical, military-technical and humanitarian areas. Read more