Japan, Russia agree on summit, continue efforts to solve island row

TOKYO, Nov. 5 Kyodo - Japan and Russia reaffirmed Wednesday that they will continue efforts to seek a mutually acceptable resolution to a longstanding territorial dispute and agreed to arrange for their leaders to meet bilaterally on the sidelines of an international conference in Peru later this month, the two nations' foreign
ministers said after talks in Tokyo.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said he and his Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov also agreed to join hands to rebuild the international financial
system, noting the need for appropriate government intervention and
international cooperation at the Nov. 15 financial summit of the world's 20
major nations in Washington.
''We agreed to further strengthen our cooperation in this area. This agreement
is extremely important as both our countries are playing significant roles in
the international arena,'' Lavrov told a news conference alongside Nakasone
after the talks.
Regarding the dispute over a set of Russian-administered islets north of
Hokkaido and negotiations to conclude a peace treaty, Nakasone said, ''We
agreed that we are both determined to move (the negotiations) forward also at
the foreign ministerial level so as to reach a final solution.''
Similarly, Lavrov said, ''We shared the consensus that we will uphold the
agreement between our leaders to seek a resolution that is mutually acceptable
to both peoples in Japan and Russia. We are ready for such dialogue and to
further improve mutual trust and understanding.''
The dispute over the islets, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in
Russia as the Southern Kurils, has been a major obstacle preventing the two
nations from concluding a postwar peace treaty.
Nakasone and Lavrov said they also discussed the situation in Georgia.
The ministers officially agreed to arrange for Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso
and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to meet bilaterally on the sidelines of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit that will begin Nov. 22 in
Lima, they said.
They were also believed to have laid the groundwork for a visit to Japan by
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by the year's end, as Nakasone said they
engaged in preparations for ''a series of upcoming political talks between our
leaders.''
At the outset of the talks, Lavrov touched on his visit to Hakodate in Hokkaido
a day earlier and said, ''There I saw with my own eyes Japan's strong interest
in strengthening bilateral relations and boosting mutual trust with Russia. I
hope this interest will become the foundation of our relations from now on.''
''I also felt firsthand the importance of improving Russia's image in Japan and
vice versa, as mentioned by our leaders when they met at the (Group of Eight)
summit in Toyako'' in Hokkaido in July, Lavrov added.
Outside the site of the foreign ministerial talks, right-wing protesters were
heard shouting slogans through loudspeakers demanding the return of the
disputed territories. But they were unable to get near the building due to a
police blockade.
In a speech to business leaders and diplomats after the talks, Lavrov said
Russia is serious about aiming for the conclusion of a peace treaty that is
mutually acceptable and that resolving the territorial issue is in both sides'
national interests.
He also stressed that relations with Japan are a top priority in Russian
diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region and that he firmly believes the two
neighbors can take relations to a new level.
The Russian minister also implicitly called for Japan to compromise over the
island row, saying that many countries in the world have become more flexible
and come to understand their own national interests.
Lavrov's visit, which began Tuesday with a stop in Hakodate, where Russia
opened its first consulate in Japan 150 years ago, came on the heels of a trip
to Japan by Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Khristenko last
month.
The series of visits by Khristenko, Lavrov and Putin, aimed at boosting
bilateral relations, was agreed on by then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
and Medvedev when they met at the G-8 summit in Toyako.