OREANDA-NEWS. The specific dates for the next meeting of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have not yet been determined; the parties will agree on the possibility of organizing it through diplomatic channels, taking into account the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will agree on the situation with the spread of the new coronavirus. For now, I will refrain from talking about specific dates in the case", he said in response to a request from journalists to comment on the decision of the Russian side to postpone preparations for the May 9 Victory Day parade.

Abe was among those invited to events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow. In February, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi noted that the possibility of a trip by the head of the Japanese government to the Russian capital is being worked out. He also did not rule out that during the visit, a separate meeting between Abe and Putin will take place.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus, almost 140 thousand have died. In Russia, according to the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus, 27 938 cases of infection were registered, 2 304 people recovered, 232 died.