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 | Saturday, April 29, 2000, updated at 09:04(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Japanese Premier Arrives in Russia for Working VisitNew Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori arrived in Russian city of St. Petersburg on Friday evening for a three-day working visit and will hold an informal meeting with Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on bilateral ties Saturday.This is the first overseas trip by Mori after coming onto post of cabinet head earlier this month. Before Mori, none of Japanese prime ministers selected Russia as the first state to visit. Putin, accompanied by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi, Trade Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Communication Minister Leonid Reiman, also arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday evening, reported Russian media. The meeting of Putin and Mori planned for Saturday will focus on July's Group-8 summit in Japan's Okinawa, deputy chief of the Kremlin staff Sergei Prikhodko said on Thursday. The two leaders will also discuss cooperation between the two states in economic, trade, military and high-tech fields, he said. Before departing from Tokyo, Mori told journalists the main purpose of his visit is to establish reliable personal relations with Putin and to promote Japanese-Russian ties, but detailed talks on territorial problem won't be expected. In a Wednesday interview with Russian RTR television channel, Mori said the sides would exchange opinions on all aspects of bilateral relations and the two countries have great potentialities to expand economic cooperation. "We are facing the task of improving future relations in order to open up prospects in the next century. The peace treaty must be signed. It is important that Russia and Japan think everything over and move ahead," he said, describing Japan's relations with Russia as "very good." "I would like to have a frank exchange of opinions with him (Putin)on the preparations for the July summit of the G-8 and on how Japanese-Russian relations will be built up in the 21st century," said Mori, vowing to continue the line of his predecessors Ryutaro Hashimoto and Keizo Obuchi. "The development of cooperation between our countries in various fields, primarily the conclusion of a peace treaty, and the establishment of truly stable relations between Japan and Russia are in the interests of both states and simultaneously contribute to stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world community as a whole," he stressed. Putin and Mori will meet again in the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg at around 6:30 p.m. Moscow time (1530 GMT) Saturday to attend the opening of the World Ice Hockey Championship, which will start with a Russia-France game. Mori will leave for Rome on Sunday.
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