The 2+2 talks between Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers may be held in Tokyo on May 30-31, Japanese media reported on Monday
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2019) The 2+2 talks between Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers may be held in Tokyo on May 30-31, Japanese media reported on Monday.The countries' governments have already started consultations on the upcoming talks, the Kyodo news agency reported citing the head of the conservative New Party Daichi (NPD), Muneo Suzuki.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is reportedly going to hold a meeting on the peace treaty issue with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, the news outlet added.
On April 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Mori, will hold bilateral negotiations, according to Suzuki, who is also a minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. Suzuki said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wanted through these talks to pave the path for his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which will take place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka in late June.
According to Kyodo, the 2+2 talks will also focus on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and security in the East Asia region. The Japanese ministers may also raise the issue of Russian drills on the South Kuril Islands, which is a matter of dispute between Moscow and Tokyo.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, are also expected to hold bilateral talks.
The latest 2+2 talks were held in Moscow in June.
The Russian-Japanese relations have long been complicated by the fact that the two nations never signed a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II. The deal was never reached because of a disagreement over a group of four islands Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai that are claimed by both countries. They are collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.
Since Russian President Putin's visit to Japan in December 2016, the relations between the two nations have been improving, with the two sides agreeing to develop joint projects on the disputed islands.
