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Abe to pay unofficial visit to Russia, possibly in spring

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, agreeing to arrange an unofficial visit to Russia by Abe, possibly in spring, ahead of a long-awaited visit to Japan by Putin on bilateral ties.

Local reports said that the talks lasted about 40 minutes and the leaders affirmed that the two countries will hold a vice ministerial meeting here next month to prepare for the leaders' exchange.

Tokyo and Moscow failed to realize a Japan visit by Putin last year as Japan joined in some European countries and the United States to impose sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.

Abe and Putin met in Turkey last November and the Russian leader expressed his intention to meet with Abe in a Russian city other than Moscow. Japan is keen to rebuild ties with Russia so as to resolve their territorial dispute which has prevented the two countries from reaching a peace deal since the end of World War II.

During the phone talks, they also agreed to cooperate at the UN over the fourth nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea earlier this month.

They two leaders also exchanged views on the Mideast situation and crisis in Ukraine, the foreign ministry here was quoted as saying. Endit