Lavrov: Premature To Speak Of New Japanese Government Influence On Dialogue With Russia

It is too early to assess the future dialogue with Japan following the formation of a new government, Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Monday.

"It is premature to speak how the newly elected government will influence anything, since it has been just formed, negotiated and approved. Moreover, as Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the parliamentary elections will be held in the near future. As far as I understand, the current team will primarily prepare for these elections," he said.

The Russian foreign minister mentioned that he had experience of cooperation with Kishida, when the latter held the post of Japan’s foreign minister. "We developed quite constructive relations, frank ones. I note that during his work as Japanese foreign minister at the request of the Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister we established the concept of joint economic activity on the islands of the southern part of Kuril Ridge. We will see how much we can ensure succession in this and other areas of Russian-Japanese cooperation," Lavrov said.

On Monday, Fumio Kishida was elected by both houses of the nation's parliament to become Japan's 100th prime minister by a majority vote. The election of a new prime minister was held because of the expiration of the powers of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who replaced Shinzo Abe following his sudden resignation last year.