OREANDA-NEWS. November 15, 2010. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, met with Seiji Maehara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Yokohama, Japan, on November 13.

The conversation focused mainly on the state of and prospects for Russian-Japanese relations. The parties expressed their mutual intention to take further steps to ensure a dynamic buildup of bilateral ties that meets the interests of both states. This is about stepping up political dialogue, expanding economic and trade cooperation, with emphasis on the modernization component, and deepening cultural and humanitarian exchanges, and inter-regional ties.

The Japanese side indicated how the recent working visit of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev to Kunashir, one of the southern Kuril Islands, was seen in Japan.

In response, the Russian side restated the essence of our earlier voiced appraisal of this Japanese reaction as well as our position on Russia’s sovereignty over its entire territory.

The parties expressed willingness to continue in a calm and constructive atmosphere, the dialogue on the issue of concluding a peace treaty.

An exchange of views took place on topical international themes, notably on security issues in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.