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Japanese and Russian leaders open talks in St. Petersburg |
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April 30, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, APR 29 (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said in an interview published Saturday that his meeting with President Vladimir Putin will help Japan and Russia to develop a new relationship.
"I want to strengthen even further the foundations for developing relations between Japan and Russia, which were forged in the 90s, to promote the further progress of these relations in various fields," Mori said in an interview with the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Mori arrived in St. Petersburg Friday night on his first overseas trip as Japan's leader. He met Putin in the Russian Museum for private talks Saturday morning.
"I would like to continue the political dialogue between Japan and Russia and to establish close personal contacts of trust and cooperation with the new Russian president," Mori said in the interview.
At the opening of Saturday's talks, Putin thanked Mori for making the visit to Russia his first foreign trip. "We consider this a sign that Japan attributes much importance to relations with Russia," he said.
Putin added that Moscow views relations with Japan as "one of the main directions of its foreign policy."
Mori's trip was arranged when he was still second-in-command in Japan's governing party; he became prime minister this month after Keizo Obuchi became incapacitated by a stroke.
Mori and Putin were expected to discuss a wide range of issues including preparations for this summer's summit of the Group of Eight - the world's top seven industrialized democracies plus Russia.
Increased trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and bilateral scientific and technical cooperation also are to be discussed, according to presidential adviser Sergei Prikhodko.
"It is important to create first of all a favorable climate for developing trade between the two countries and for investments,"
Mori said in the interview. "The Japanese government intends to render constant and diverse assistance to the Russian government's efforts in this direction."
Russia-Japan relations are troubled by the dispute over the southern Kuril Islands, which Russia occupied at the end of World War II. The disagreement over the islands has prevented the countries from signing a treaty formally ending the war.
Prikhodko said the topic of a peace treaty probably would not be discussed. Mori's was on a working visit and "such a global problem" cannot be discussed he said.
Mori will remain in St. Petersburg until Sunday, when he will travel to Western Europe for talks with his Italian, French, German and British counterparts before heading to Canada.
The Japanese prime minister will conclude the 9-day trip by holding talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton on May 5, returning home the next day.
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