Gemba & Putin meet for surge in trade,talks on disputed territory:

 

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The meeting between Japan's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba  and Putin is hold discusion on disputed  islands off Hokkaido and participation of Japan in  APEC summit in Vladivostok Russia and Japan should speed up the development of trade and economic ties between the two states, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.
 Russian leader said the two states had reached the pre-crisis trade of $30 billion, but it was not enough. As an example, he cited bilateral trade with China, which currently stands at $87 billion.
“We are convinced that the potential of Russia and Japan makes us think about what should be done to speed up the development of trade and economic ties,” Putin said at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.Putin invited Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok to be held on September 8-9.

 Japan, Russia discuss disputed territory:
 Japanese and Russian foreign ministers have agreed to maintain dialogue over a group of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan. But Russia says its top officials will continue to visit the islands off Hokkaido.
Koichiro Gemba and Sergey Lavrov, met in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Saturday.
Gemba said the northern Pacific islands are Japan's territory. He expressed regret over a visit by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Kunashiri, one of the islands, early this month.

Gemba said both sides should hold talks at various levels involving leaders, foreign ministers and officials. He added they should also consider public opinion in both countries.Lavrov said Russia is ready to hold dialogue on the issue as agreed by Russian president Vladimir Putin and Japanese prime minister Yoshihiko Noda last month. Lavrov later told reporters Russian leaders will not refrain from visiting the islands. He said Japan's request to stop the visits does not create a good foundation for dialogue.