Talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan are likely to take place, said the Japanese ambassador to Russia, who was temporarily recalled from his post on Tuesday after a dispute between the two states.
"On the whole, a meeting is likely to take place. But concrete terms have not been specified yet," Kyodo news agency cited Masaharu Kono as saying on Wednesday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian president to visit one of the four disputed Kuril Islands (called the Northern Territories in Japan) on Monday. Both Russia and Japan have laid claim to the islands since they were occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.
Medvedev and Kan were due to meet at the Asia Pacific (APEC) summit in on November 13-14 in the Japanese city of Yokohama, but Kan said on Tuesday that he was not sure the meeting would go ahead following the row.
"The benefits of the visit for Russian-Japanese relations are unclear. His [Medvedev's] goal was most likely to improve his domestic ratings, rather that to aggravate Japan on the issue of the islands," NHK TV channel quoted Kono as saying.
Tokyo's continued claim over four South Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) to the northeast of Japan has so far prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty to end World War II hostilities.
MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti)
