Putin aide to visit Japan next week

August 30, 2017

MOSCOW- Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and secretary of the country's Security Council, will visit Japan from Monday through Sept. 6, diplomatic sources told Jiji Press on Tuesday.

Patrushev is expected to meet with Japanese government officials including Shotaro Yachi, head of the secretariat of the National Security Council, to coordinate the agenda for a Japan-Russia summit to be held on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 6-7.

Tensions over North Korea are also expected to be discussed in talks between Patrushev and Japanese officials.

The focus of the upcoming summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Putin is on whether the leaders can reach an agreement on specific projects under planned joint economic activities on the Russian-held four northwestern Pacific islands, also claimed by Japan.

Uncertainties, however, remain over such an agreement as Japan reacted sharply against Russia's recent unilateral designation of the disputed islands as a special economic zone. Jiji Press