The Japanese government is considering a meeting between the country’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference in Tokyo on Monday.
"If circumstances allow, Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to attend the Eastern Economic Forum starting from September 11. We are considering a meeting between the Japanese and Russian leaders on this occasion but no specific agenda has been determined yet," he said.
Meanwhile, the Kyodo news agency reported that Japan was also considering a meeting between Abe and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Vladivostok.
The Japanese prime minister said earlier in an interview with the Sankei daily that he expected to hold thorough talks with Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum. "I would like to resolve the issue of the four islands in the Northern Territories [which is what Japan calls Russia’s South Kuril Islands - TASS] and sign a peace treaty," he said.
The Fourth Eastern Economic Forum is scheduled to be held in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on September 11-13. TASS is the general information partner and the official photohost agency of the event. The news agency is also the operator of the forum’s presentation zone.
A Japanese delegation of 400 members, led by the country’s prime minister, is expected to take part in the event.