Meeting Between Foreign Ministers of Japan and the Russian Federation on the Occasion of the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Summary of Results

May 15, 2004

Shortly after 16:40 local time in Washington DC on May 14, 2004, for a period of approximately 30 minutes, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi held talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation. This was the first occasion for the two foreign ministers to meet since the inauguration of Foreign Minister Lavrov. The following is a summary of the meeting. (Other officials attending the meeting included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Kislyak and Director-General of Policy Planning Kuznetsov from the Russian side, and Director-General of Foreign Policy Bureau Tsuneo Nishida, Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations Hatsuhisa Takashima, and Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau Ichiro Komatsu and Director of the Russian Division Kunirori Matsuda from the Japanese side.)

1. Future Diplomatic Schedule

As a result of the talks, it was agreed that Foreign Minister Kawaguchi would pay a visit to Russia from June 23 to 25. It was also reconfirmed that summit level talks would be held between Japan and Russia on the occasion of the Sea Island G8 Summit in June and the APEC Economic Leaders Summit in Chile in November.

2. The Northern Territorial Issue

(1) Foreign Minister Kawaguchi pointed out that in talks between former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Putin had stated that the territorial issue was an obstacle to Japan-Russia relations and one that should be removed. This statement had given the Japanese side great courage. To date, both sides have confirmed on numerous occasions the shared recognition that a peace treaty would be concluded through the resolution of the issue concerning the attribution of the Four Northern Islands. On that basis Foreign Minister Kawaguchi stated that she and Foreign Minister Lavrov should continue substantive discussions in the future.

(2) In response, Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that the conclusion of a peace treaty by resolving the territorial issue would be beneficial to the national interests of both sides and that both sides need to further advance towards the resolution of the territorial issue through the implementation of the Japan-Russia Action Plan. Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that he would like to engage in detailed discussions on the issue on the occasion of the June visit to Moscow by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi.

3. North Korea

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi explained that one of the objectives of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang on May 22, was to reconfirm the implementation of the Japan-Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Pyongyang Declaration. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi further explained the basic policy of Japan to seek normalization of relations with North Korea in a form that would contribute to the peace and stability of the Northeast Asian region on the condition that various issues between Japan and North Korea were comprehensively resolved, such as the abduction issue, and security issues including the nuclear issue.

In response, Foreign Minister Lavrov offered his appreciation of the explanation for Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to North Korea, noting his hope that the abduction issue in particular would be advanced towards resolution. Foreign Minister Lavrov further noted that the abduction issue was the human rights issue as well as a political issue and that he hoped that the resolution of the abduction issue would have a positive influence on the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that Russia would continue to call on North Korea to resolve the abduction issue.

4. Others

(1) United Nations reform

Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that with regard to the issue of United Nations reform, Japan was already aware of the Russian stance and that Japan was a powerful and natural candidate for membership of the Security Council.

(2) Iraq

There was brief reference to the issue of Iraq, based on discussions that had been held in the G8 Foreign Ministers' meeting.