MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In his opening addresses at a meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Lavrov said:
"We are working on [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe's eight-point proposal and on Russian strategic priorities and their realization will allow bringing our relations to a new level."
Kishida arrived in Russia on Friday for a two-day visit ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s planned official trip to Japan later this month. Lavrov said that Kishida’s meeting with President Putin on Friday showed directions in which Japanese-Russian relations should progress.
Abe unveiled his eight-point "new approach" to bilateral ties at last May’s meeting with Putin in the southern Russian city of Sochi. He seeks to maintain a calm negotiating climate between the two neighbor nations on Russia’s Kuril Islands that Tokyo wants in exchange for signing an overdue peace treaty with Russia.
The initiative also promotes all kinds of political dialogue and mutual visits by officials, including on the highest level, closer interaction on economy, security and culture, and urges Russia to play a constructive role in dealing with global challenges and regional crises.
