OREANDA-NEWS. November 6, 2008. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov on November 4-5 paid a working visit to Japan, which began with a short trip to Hakodate in relation to the 150th anniversary of the establishment in the town of a Russian consulate, the first Russian diplomatic mission in Japan. The minister met with representatives of the local public, attended the opening ceremony of a chapter of the Russian World Foundation, visited the branch of Russia’s Far Eastern State University and laid wreaths at the graves of compatriots – naval sailors resting at the Russian cemetery of Hakodate.

During his sojourn in Hakodate, an exchange of congratulatory messages between Lavrov and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Hirofumi Nakasone took place on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the said jubilee date.

The next day, on November 5, the talks of Lavrov with his Japanese counterpart Nakasone took place in Tokyo on a wide range of issues in bilateral relations and of international problems.

The sides noted the successful course of the implementation of the principal provisions of the Russia-Japan Action Plan, adopted at the highest level in January 2003, and of the subsequent accords, including those reached during the meeting between the Russian Federation President and the Japanese Prime Minister in Toyako this past July.

The ministers discussed a near-term schedule of Russian-Japanese political dialogue, devoting priority attention to the preparations for a meeting between Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso to be held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this November in Lima, Peru.

In their talks, the problem of concluding a peace treaty between Russia and Japan was touched on. The ministers expressed a unanimous view that it is necessary to continue the search for a mutually acceptable solution to this question based on all existing agreements. There was accentuated on the Russian side the importance of purposeful efforts toward the creation in the publics of the two countries of a positive image of Russia and Japan against the background of the ongoing development of the whole range of Russian-Japanese ties.

In order to further strengthen the juridical base of relations the sides reaffirmed their readiness to continue work on the preparation of a number of agreements on promotion of cooperation in practical fields, including atomic energy, outer space, visa facilitation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

During the exchange of views on the international agenda, the ministers discussed the situation in the world after the events in the Caucasus and the related problems of reinforcing international stability and security in the Asia-Pacific Region; the global financial crisis; the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and other topical international themes.

They pointed out the necessity of intensifying under today’s conditions the activities of the Group of Eight as well as Moscow-Tokyo interaction in the context of the preparations for a summit of the Group of Twenty in Washington on November 15, 2008.

Sergey Lavrov delivered a lecture in Tokyo to the representatives of Japan’s political, academic and public circles on the theme of “Russia’s Policy in the APR and Russian-Japanese relations,” setting out the Russian approaches to the situation in the APR, particularly with regard for recent global events and processes, and outlining the prospects for Russia-Japan interaction aimed at contributing to the security and sustainable development of the region.

The visit has shown the increasingly stronger reciprocal intention of Moscow and Tokyo to expand cooperation on bilateral tracks and to cooperate more closely on the international stage, proceeding from the foreign policy priorities of the two countries.