Japanese Foreign Minister to visit Russia in October

Japanese Foreign Minister Ioriko Kawaguchi will visit Russia in October 2002. The Russian and Japanese foreign ministers will coordinate the exact terms of the visit at the forthcoming bilateral meeting in Brunei as part of the session of the Asian Regional Forum, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said, following the meeting with Ioriko Kawaguchi in Tokyo.

The top Russian diplomat arrived in Japan to hold Russian-Japanese consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers, which will focus on the preparations for Kawaguchi's visit to Moscow.

Losyukov pointed to Moscow's intention "to boost the development of Russian-Japanese relations in different spheres after a recent pause in the bilateral dialogue".

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister handed over to Ioriko Kawaguchi a message from his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.

"We are ready to continue the bilateral dialogue and to develop relations with Japan, to start practical preparations for Moscow visits by the Japanese Premier and Foreign Minister," the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said.