* Russian President Vladimir Putin told Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, at their first ever personal meeting, that Russia is ready to continue dialogue with Japan on a peace treaty and look for mutually acceptable ways to settle the problem
* The Russian foreign minister said the Russian and Chinese leaders agreed to act in a coordinated way for the soonest possible resumption of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear problem
* German Gref, Russia's economic development and trade minister, said:
- Russia and the U.S. will sign a protocol on Russia's admission to the World Trade Organization Sunday
- multilateral talks on the WTO accession will end in mid-2007
- Russia has defended all principled positions to protect its market at the WTO accession talks with the U.S.
* Russia's finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, attending a meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads of the world's 20 largest countries (G-20), in Melbourne, Australia, said:
- Russia will continue to step up energy supplies to foreign markets
- a new partnership and cooperation agreement between Russia and the European Union could be even more liberal than the WTO accession deal
- world oil prices will not fall in the long term
- with world oil prices at $61 per barrel or less, the ruble will not appreciate by more than 5% in 2007
* Chechen police have killed the former commander of the Gorets task force, declared outlawed by the North Caucasus republic's authorities, in central Moscow, the capital's prosecutors said
