Putin, Abe Begin Bilateral Meeting at G20

HAMBURG (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have started their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit focused on the situation on the Korean peninsula and the peace treaty, among other issues.

Abe said Tuesday that he would use the opportunity to urge the Russian president to take a more constructive position on North Korea after Pyongyang’s yet another missile launch.

According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the agenda of the bilateral meeting includes a range of international issues, such as the situation on the Korean peninsula, as well as Moscow and Tokyo’s interaction in multilateral organizations. The two leaders will also touch upon the issue of concluding a peace treaty.

The same day, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will visit Tokyo to meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Economy Minister Hiroshige Seko to discuss preparations for a meeting between the Russian and Japanese leaders in September, which will reportedly be held in the Russian city of Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.