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383102
Fri, 10/09/2015 - 16:25
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Tokyo continues to prepare Russian president’s visit to Japan - foreign minister

TOKYO, October 9. /TASS/. Official Tokyo is not abandoning the preparation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan this year, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at a news conference on Friday. "Our plans have not changed also in the present situation," he said, answering a question about the possible impact of the situation around Syria on the visit’s preparation. In September, Putin met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The Russian leader said during the meeting that the two countries had prospects for improving mutual trade the volume of which had recently declined. He also said that the two sides intensified contacts in various fields. In particular, for the first time in several years, a meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on trade and economic issues has been held. The two countries are also maintaining contacts through the Security Councils’ secretaries. At the meeting, the leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, using, in particular, international forums. Russia also says it is ready to consider the issue of the timeframe of the visit of the Russian president to Japan if Tokyo makes a concrete proposal. Putin said, "At the start of the meeting, I would like to note that our contacts in different directions have intensified. For the first time in several years, an inter-governmental commission held a session." He added that secretaries of the two state’s security councils also maintain contacts. "However, our trade turnover has decreased, though I am confident that there are good prospects [for increasing it], and a large number of joint projects is the best evidence of that," Putin said. On Tuesday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Tokyo would continue the political dialogue with Moscow and hoped that Russian President Vladimir Putin would come to Japan on a visit. "We’ll continue the political dialogue with Russia and efforts to make it beneficial to our national interests," he said, commenting on the statement by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken who said it was necessary to "increase pressure on Russia." According to Suga, "under an earlier agreement, Japan will continue preparations for President Putin’s visit." Read more

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