Russia, Japan high-ranking diplomats to discuss Asia-Pacific coop.

TOKYO, January 25 (Itar-Tass) -- The next round of Russian-Japanese
dialogue at the level of the first deputy foreign ministers will open here
on Monday. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov will head the Russian
delegation; his counterpart Mitoji Yabunaka will head the Japanese
delegation.

High on the agenda of the 7th meeting within the framework of
strategic dialogue will be the development of cooperation in the
Asia-Pacific Region, as well as the nuclear problems in North Korea and
Iran, Japanese diplomatic sources said. The sides are also expected to
discuss the schedule of future contacts on the high level and the
prospects for some progress in the negotiations on a peace treaty.
At the end of the previous week Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya
Okada stated about the intention to intensify the dialogue with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on bilateral relations, including the
territorial problem. "I would like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit
Japan in the first half of this year. And I would like to visit Russia in
the second half of the year," Okada said.
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