Foreign, defense ministers of Russia, Japan to meet in Tokyo

Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers will meet in Tokyo on March 20 for consultations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The event was agreed on by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on the sideline of a G20 ministerial meeting in Bonn, Germany, said a Foreign Ministry statement.

It did not disclose purposes of the "2+2 format" consultations.

Lavrov and Kishida also agreed that a new round of strategic dialogue at the level of first deputy foreign ministers will be held in Tokyo on March 30, the statement said.

The date of talks in Tokyo between Russian and Japanese deputy foreign ministers on joint economic activities on disputed Pacific islands was set for March 18, it said.

Russia and Japan both claim a group of islands off Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

The decades-old territorial spat has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty and hindered diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.

During a December visit to Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to start consultations on joint economic activities on these islands.

But rows continued this week as Tokyo lodged a diplomatic protest after Moscow named five islets of the disputed island group after prominent Russian figures because the Kremlin said they are Russian territory. Endit