"Thanks to your efforts we see that there has been a definite shift in Russian-Japanese relations. I and my colleagues hope that our meetings today and tomorrow will significantly contribute to the development of Russian-Japanese ties," Putin told Abe during a meeting.
14 December 2016, 14:55 GMT
Earlier on Thursday, the Russian president arrived in Japan. Putin’s visit to Japan on December 15-16 is widely seen as a breakthrough in Russia-Japan relations taking into account that it had been postponed since 2014.
Abe and Putin are expected to discuss various issues, including the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan, the potential build-up of the political dialogue, joint projects in the economic and trade sphere and cultural ties between the two countries.
The situation on the Korean peninsula as well as regional security issues could also be brought up during Putin’s visit to Japan
