Putin-Abe summit to take place at the end of June

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterpart Taro Kono will also hold talks in Tokyo on May 31. Before the participation of delegations from the two countries, the two foreign ministers had a private meeting for more than half an hour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo: Reuters

Before starting talks with his Japanese counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed his hope that the two sides would discuss finalizing the content for the Putin-Abe Summit taking place at the end of June.

On May 30, the Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers of Russia and Japan also held a 2+2 meeting. Although they declared their disagreement with Russia's military activities in the disputed Kuril Islands (called the Northern Territories by Japan), the Foreign and Defense Ministers of the two countries still pointed out the effectiveness of the negotiations, and once again confirmed their desire to continue to develop bilateral cooperation in the field of security.

In early May, Japan's foreign minister said Tokyo and Moscow were still discussing the time and location of the Putin-Abe summit. The meeting is expected to take place within the framework of the G20 summit held in Osaka on June 28-29.