MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed early Friday he still hoped to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although no date had been set for Putin's visit to the island nation yet.
"As for Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan, I do hope that it will take place, although his agenda is still to be set," Shinzo Abe said at a press conference.
"We had a phone talk [with Putin] on my birthday, September 21. We agreed to continue a dialogue between our nations," Abe told journalists.
Prime Minister Abe added he hoped to further Russo-Japanese relations. "For instance, I am going to make use of international platforms, such as the upcoming APEC Summit in November, to hold high-level [bilateral] meetings," he said.
Vladimir Putin is due to visit Japan in autumn. The Abe government said earlier that the final decision would be taken after considering "various factors."
A visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to Russia is also pending, although reports say it will precede that of Vladimir Putin's. Kishida was to travel to Russia past spring before his trip was put off for indefinite time due to the Ukrainian crisis.
