Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: I am very pleased to see you. We had already met in Heiligendamm and I am very glad to be able to meet with you again.

Last time we talked about continuing to implement the Japanese-Russian Action Plan in all areas, including with respect to concluding a peace treaty. I also put forward an initiative designed to strengthen cooperation in eastern Siberia and the Far East. During our meeting today I would like to discuss issues linked to concluding a peace treaty and also the initiative to strengthen our cooperation within eastern Siberia and the Far East. As a matter of fact, both of these topics will further promote our Action Plan.

In addition to today's meeting we are planning to have the Russian Foreign Minister visit Japan in October 2007 and the first deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation will visit as well. I would like to continue our strategic dialogue. I think it is very important to create a partnership based on Russia and Japan's shared strategic interests and to continue our concerted action designed to strengthen cooperation in the international arena.

Today we are meeting within the APEC summit. As you know, it was precisely with a view to strengthening our partnership that Japan supported Russia's application to host the APEC summit in Vladivostok in 2012.

President Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister!

I am also very glad to be able to meet with you today. Thank you for supporting Russia's candidature to host the 2012 APEC summit. We are planning to hold it in the Russian Far East, most likely in Vladivostok.

The volume of our cooperation is increasing. We certainly support your initiative to develop regional cooperation, and we pay special attention to development issues in the Far East and eastern Siberia. All the fields that we have already discussed – energy, transport, communications and the environment – remain extremely topical.

Mr Prime Minister!

Russia is interested in using these negotiations to search for outcomes that would enable us to conclude a peace treaty with Japan. We are going to look for solutions that will be acceptable both for Russia and for our Japanese partners. I am sure that Russia will not limit this work to this year but continue next year as well, after the parliamentary and presidential elections in the Russian Federation.