Russian foreign minister: Putin's visit to Japan cannot be postponed

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan could not be postponed.

"We have an invitation. It [the visit] cannot be postponed. We are discussing the terms," the minister told journalists.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi invited Vladimir Putin to visit Japan in the beginning of 2005 during the G8 summit in Sea Island June 2004.

"The sides are currently discussing the documents to be signed during the visit. They cover the following spheres: political dialogue, economic cooperation, in particular, in the energy sphere, and interaction on the international scene," official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told RIA Novosti in January 2005.

"The date of the visit will be fixed as soon as the above-mentioned documents are ready," Yakovenko said.