Japanese top diplomat ready to discuss joint economic activities on South Kuril Islands with Russian counterpart

TOKYO, March 20. /TASS/. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed readiness to discuss joint economic activities on the South Kuril Islands with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. "In order to make a step towards signing a peace treaty, and taking into account the recent consultations on this issue that were held in Tokyo, I expect that we will discuss joint economic activities," Kishida said opening talks with Lavrov. He added that since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan in December 2016, the parties had been taking active steps to develop bilateral relations while his current meeting with Lavrov was their second one in 2017. The first round of consultations on joint economic activities on the South Kuril Islands, involving Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba, was held on March 18 in Tokyo. After the consultations, Japan said that the parties had put forward specific plans for cooperation in tourism industry, healthcare and fishery. According to Akiba, the parties also agreed to discuss the opportunity to arrange charter flights so that former residents of the islands could visit them. On December 15-16, 2016, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan and his talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a joint statement was adopted saying that consultations on joint economic activities on the South Kuril Islands could become an important step on the way to a peace treaty. Besides, the two countries believe that this statement and all agreements concerning joint economic activities that could be based on it, will not damage the positions of Russia and Japan concerning the peace treaty issue. Read more