WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States and Japan are allies bound under a mutual security treaty. US-Russian diplomatic relations have been increasingly strained in recent years.
"Certainly the United States is — we are not concerned or worried about bilateral relations between Russia and Japan and we leave it to them to define what the relationship is going to be," Kirby stated.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin press service confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on September 2.
Putin is also expected to visit Japan in December and will discuss the details of the trip with Abe next week.