Japanese Foreign Minister rules out her visit to Russia after trips to Afghanistan and Iran

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi rules out the possibility of her "sudden visit" to Moscow after the forthcoming trip to Afghanistan and Japan in connection with the busy schedule. I would have visited Russia with pleasure with the permission of parliamentarians, who made me pay official visits to Iran and Afghanistan on holidays, Kawaguchi told a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The minister evaded a RIA Novosti correspondent's question on the possibility of her trip to the South Kurils. The deputies are also to make this decision, she said. The Japanese foreign minister doesn't agree with the opinion that Russian-Japanese relations are in stagnation. All contacts are maintained according to the schedule, she said.