PRESS RELEASE
Some Preliminary Results of the First Day of the Two-Day Putin-Abe Summit
Dec. 15, 2016 (EIRNS)—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded their first day’s summit meeting in Nagato. Tomorrow, the two will meet in Tokyo. The outcome of the first day’s meeting reported through Russian and Japanese authorities, indicates that a number of steps have been taken to bring the two countries closer together. Technically, they are still at war since the erstwhile Soviet Union refused to sign the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, which guaranteed Japan’s independence and territorial integrity and the terms under which Japan was re-admitted into the international community.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told assembled reporters:
"Today it was agreed that other mechanisms of our bilateral dialog that remained stalled over the past few years must be activated. This applies to two-plus-two contacts between the diplomats and military,"
TASS reported.
"President Putin has suggested resuming this procedure, along with regular meetings between the chiefs of general staffs. The Japanese Prime Minister’s response was positive. I do hope that such a decision will be made at a certain point."
The two leaders also discussed the Syrian situation.
On Russian concerns over Obama’s "missile defense" program in Europe and in Asia, Lavrov told reporters that the issue was discussed earlier in the day, and "we have got an impression that the Japanese colleagues now understand better Russia’s concerns to this respect," Tass reported.
In addition to these outcomes, the Russian Presidential Envoy to Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, who is also in Japan, told journalists Russia and Japan have signed a deal to establish a joint investment fund. We signed a memorandum on creating a joint investment platform. Such funds help to set a better stage for investment, Trutnev said, according to Sputnik.
