Japan, Russia eye economic pact amid stalemate on territory
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TOKYO (AP) -- Russia and Japan aren't likely to resolve a long-running territorial dispute, but they hope to announce an economic cooperation agreement after their leaders finish talks in Tokyo on Friday.
The two countries have been negotiating the agreement since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed it as part of a "comprehensive approach" to improving bilateral ties at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia in May.
The two leaders are wrapping up a two-day summit that began Thursday evening at a hot springs resort in western Japan. For Putin, the summit meeting marks his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Abe invited Putin even though the G-7 nations, including Japan, still have sanctions on Russia.
"Russia and Japan haven't had very much economic cooperation," Putin said in opening remarks at Friday's talks. "It is necessary to expand the potential of our economic ties."
