Post by Admin on Jul 3, 2019 17:22:57 GMT
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, praised the launch of several new economic projects on Saturday in Osaka, but failed to reach any major breakthrough in a long-standing territorial dispute — a huge setback for Abe, who has invested a significant amount of political capital in the issue.
In a news conference after the meeting, conducted on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Abe said the two agreed to “continue negotiations” over the dispute of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia.
Abe, however, didn’t mention any specific progress in the territorial talks, merely saying “the outline of the issues we should overcome are now becoming clear” — almost the same phrase used by Foreign Minister Taro Kono after he met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on May 31 in Tokyo.
Putin hailed some of the ongoing joint economic cooperation projects of the two countries. But on the territorial row, the Russian leader only said those projects will build up mutual trust and help prepare a good environment for the negotiations.
The prime minister, who had been trying to reach an agreement with Putin in time for the Group of 20 Osaka summit, has met with the Russian leader as many as 26 times so far, an unusually high number.
Ahead of the meeting, Japanese officials were already striking a pessimistic tone, saying the two sides have yet to agree on the most fundamental issues.
In a news conference after the meeting, conducted on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Abe said the two agreed to “continue negotiations” over the dispute of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia.
Abe, however, didn’t mention any specific progress in the territorial talks, merely saying “the outline of the issues we should overcome are now becoming clear” — almost the same phrase used by Foreign Minister Taro Kono after he met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on May 31 in Tokyo.
Putin hailed some of the ongoing joint economic cooperation projects of the two countries. But on the territorial row, the Russian leader only said those projects will build up mutual trust and help prepare a good environment for the negotiations.
The prime minister, who had been trying to reach an agreement with Putin in time for the Group of 20 Osaka summit, has met with the Russian leader as many as 26 times so far, an unusually high number.
Ahead of the meeting, Japanese officials were already striking a pessimistic tone, saying the two sides have yet to agree on the most fundamental issues.