Putin, Abe Worked Out Statement on Joint Activity on Kuril Islands

Experts have failed to work out the text of a statement on joint economic activity on the Russian Far Eastern Kuril Islands, Russian and Japanese leaders Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe addressed the issue themselves, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Thursday.

NAGATO (Sputnik) — He said the joint economic activity of the Russian Federation and Japan on the Kuril Islands may concern fisheries, tourism, culture and medicine.

"In Lima, the president and the prime minister instructed the experts to prepare a possible statement for today's meeting. Experts worked on the text for a few weeks, but were unable to develop a text that would be suitable to both parties. Therefore the leaders had to address it. They spent 40 minutes to agree on the text, which will be published tomorrow," Ushakov told reporters.