The parties confirmed their readiness to maintain contacts in all areas, including work on the peace treaty. The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Japan covered in detail the list of bilateral projects pertaining to trade and economic cooperation made after the latest visit by the Japanese Prime Minister to Russia.
The two leaders also covered a number of international issues, particularly the situation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin gave a detailed account of Russia’s position.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, colleagues, welcome.
Only yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a festival of Japanese martial arts in Moscow. I would like to thank you, Mr Prime Minister, and those of your colleagues who were involved in the organisation of this event, for the pleasure they gave to Russian fans of martial arts. This is not only sports, but also a significant part of Japanese culture, and this, in turn, is the best basis for developing bilateral relations, which have been making good progress in the past years both in the economy and politics.
When I speak of politics, I am also referring to the renewal of our talks on a peace treaty. In this connection, I am happy to have this opportunity to meet with you again here, on the sidelines of the APEC summit and together analyse all the aspects of our cooperation.
Thank you.
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe (retranslated): Mr President, I am very happy to see you again after our brief meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe summit in Milan. In fact, this is the tenth time we meet if we take into account our meetings during my first term as Prime Minister.
I would like to thank you for attending the festival of Japanese martial arts. I believe that your knowledge of Japanese martial arts as a judo wrestler means a better understanding of Japan in general. This is beneficial for the further development and strengthening of Japanese-Russian relations.
Today I would like to focus on an exchange of views on the peace treaty and on certain international issues.
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