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Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.

They discussed the current aspects of bilateral relations and the implementation of previous agreements.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, colleagues, I would like to welcome you all to Vladivostok.

We meet regularly, using every available opportunity to continue our dialogue. This is pleasing, because this helps boost our bilateral relations.

I would like to begin our meeting by expressing our gratitude for the message of condolences you have sent to the residents of Krasnoyarsk Territory and Irkutsk Region in connection with the wildfires there.

I am happy to have the opportunity to meet with you today on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to discuss our bilateral relations as well.

I would like to begin by saying that many of our initiatives are being implemented and that our bilateral relations are stable and developing dynamically.

I would also like to say that our agreements, including those we have recently reached in Osaka two months ago, are being implemented.

Of course, today we will speak not only about our current relations but we will also map out measures to continue the development of our relations.

I would like to point out that a very large Japanese delegation is here at the forum, comprising over 500 Japanese officials and business people. We are delighted to see all our Japanese friends.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe (retranslated): Mr President, I am glad that we are meeting in Vladivostok for the fourth time running.

I would like to use this occasion to express our gratitude to your contribution to the success of the G20 summit in Osaka.

Only two months have passed since our previous meeting, but we used this period of time to start the gradual implementation of our agreements allowing the former inhabitants of the four islands to visit the graves of their ancestors there, as well as to launch large joint economic projects.

When speaking in Osaka at the closing ceremony of the Cross Years of Russia and Japan, we announced that next year would be the Japanese-Russian year of inter-regional exchange. We would like to deepen our exchanges in many spheres. I am sure that such forward-looking events and exchanges will create a foundation for the further development of Japanese-Russian relations.

I hope that today we will have an open exchange of opinions on bilateral topics, primarily the peace treaty, as well as on global issues that can affect our future.

Vladimir Putin (speaking in Japanese): Arigato.

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