The President of Russia and Prime Minister of Japan exchanged opinions on various aspects of their bilateral relations.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister,
It is a great pleasure to see you again, this time on the sidelines of the G8 summit.
We have just had a very thorough discussion with our colleagues on key topics in international politics. Naturally, in this context relations between Japan and the Russian Federation are crucially important for us.
I am very pleased that we are engaged in constructive dialogue, and am glad of the opportunity to go through our bilateral agenda once again.
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe (retranslated): Mr President,
Following our summit meeting in Moscow, I am very glad to meet you here today (albeit very late).
Mr President, together in Moscow we were able to once again relaunch Japanese-Russian relations. And I hope that our meeting today will give yet another impetus to our bilateral relations.
I look forward to a fruitful exchange of opinions during today’s meeting, including in fields such as politics, culture, citizen exchanges, security issues, and the problems surrounding a peace treaty.
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