Abe, Putin to Meet in Singapore Next Week: Tass

November 8, 2018

Moscow--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting in Singapore next week, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported Wednesday.

The meeting will take place during Putin's three-day visit to Singapore from Tuesday, on the fringe of gatherings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to the report.

The key issue will be a territorial dispute over the Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan, which has prevented the two countries from concluding a post-World War II peace treaty.

In September this year, Putin made a proposal to conclude such a treaty without setting any preconditions at all.

Japan and Russia held a meeting of senior diplomats in Moscow on Oct. 31 to lay the groundwork for a bilateral summit. The diplomats mainly discussed joint economic activities on the disputed islands off Japan's Hokkaido. Jiji Press