TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from Japan and Russia were making preparations in Tokyo on Friday for their leaders’ meetings later this year, hoping to deepen relations overshadowed by a World War II territorial dispute and the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip came days after Japan hosted foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Russia is barred from G-7 because of its annexation of Crimea in 2014. That has also shelved Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Japan visit for nearly two years.
Still, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing to make progress in the dispute over …read more
Source: KXAN
