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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased about the continuation of our contacts. At the APEC meeting in Lima, we agreed with the Prime Minister that such a meeting may take place.

It is very good that our contacts are not interrupted. We are working on implementing the proposals of the Prime Minster on expanding our contacts in all areas of interest for us on both sides.

I am very glad to see you.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Fumio Kishida (retranslated): Mr President, I would like to thank you for finding the time to meet me.

This is my first visit to St Petersburg. Today I did a bit of sightseeing before the meeting, and I am captivated by the beauty of this city. It is a great honour for me to meet with you in your hometown, St Petersburg.

This is my first visit to Russia since September of last year. This time I came to Russia to conduct final preparations for your visit to Japan with the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Lavrov, in order to achieve results on a broad range of political and economic issues, including the signing of a peace treaty, during your visit.

We paid a great deal of attention to your words in yesterday’s annual Address to the Federal Assembly that you hope for tangible progress in relations with Japan, and we appreciate you mentioning this in your Address.

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