Putin: Japan Not Just a Neighbor, But Important Partner for Russia

Japan is an important partner for Russia and there are political and economic issues that demand attention, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi on the Black Sea.

SOCHI (Sputnik) — Abe is currently on a visit in Sochi at Putin's invitation. According to the press service, Putin and Abe are also expected to hold an in-depth exchange of views on topical international issues.

“Japan is not just a neighbor, but a partner, even more so an important partner for us in the Asia-Pacific Region. In regard to the well-known events in both the political and trade and economic fields, we do have issues that demand certain attention. Perhaps in the force of this situation, we need to pay particular attention to building our relations and maintaining them on a high level,” Putin said.

Reports this year suggested that the informal nature of the Japanese leader’s visit would rule out any document exchanges between the sides.

Putin was due to travel to Japan in the fall of 2014, but the crisis in Ukraine and Moscow’s strained relations with the West caused the trip to be postponed. A visit was then planned for 2015, but the two sides never announced a date.