Japan-Russian Federation Summit Meeting
on the occasion of the APEC Brunei Meeting

15 November 2000
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

A Japan-Russian Federation Summit Meeting took place for 55 minutes, starting at 18:20 (Brunei local time), on 15 November on the occasion of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Brunei Darussalam. The meeting extended beyond the 30 minutes that was initially planned.

The leaders were accompanied by Deputy Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Ryozo Kato from Japan, and Deputy Chief of the President's Administration Sergei Prikhodjko and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Aleksandr Losyukov from the Russian Federation.

1. Points of the Meeting

(1) Based on the outcome of President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan in September and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono's visit to Russia at the beginning of this month, the two leaders were able to hold frank discussions on the issue of a Peace Treaty, which marked one step further towards negotiations.

(2) Consequently, the two leaders agreed to work further on negotiations at the foreign ministerial and expert level in the future.

(3) Also, the two leaders, based on the progress made in the negotiations, agreed that if specific developments are achieved towards the conclusion of a Peace Treaty, Prime Minister Mori will visit Irkutsk within the year.

2. Summary of the Interaction

(1) The following is a summary of the remarks made by President Putin:

President Putin expressed his pleasure at being able to have the meeting within the framework of APEC. He stated that, although it had not been long since the two leaders met in Tokyo, there appears to be a trend towards improvement of Japan-Russia relations. These improvements are not general but rather specific cooperative efforts, vitalization of economic relations, and cooperation in international areas that has been heretofore unseen. He also expressed hope that Prime Minister Mori's visit to Russia would have a new impact on the path towards further improvement of Japan-Russia relations. He then invited Prime Minister Mori to Russia this year or next year.

(2) Prime Minister Mori's response was as follows:

1. The Prime Minister expressed his desire to visit Russia. He stated that, although he had been in office only seven months, he had already had five meetings with President Putin--in St. Petersburg, Okinawa, Tokyo, New York, and here in Brunei--totaling more than 27 hours altogether. He expressed his pleasure that they had been able to deepen their relationship of mutual trust. He also affirmed that he would like to take the next possible opportunity to meet with President Putin to further build on the progress made in the September summit.
2. The Prime Minister expressed his complete understanding of President Putin's thoughts represented in Tokyo. In terms of Japan-Russia relations, steady developments are being made on all three subjects: strategic and geopolitical cooperation, economic cooperation, and the conclusion of a Peace Treaty. President Putin's visit to Japan in September was the driving force behind this process. He stated his intention to continue to promote this process in the future.
3. Regarding Peace Treaty negotiations, Prime Minister Mori said that he had given serious consideration to how to resolve the issue of where the Four Islands belong and conclude a Peace Treaty. He stated his belief that the Kawana proposal is still the best possible solution. President Putin's recognition of the effectiveness of the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration during his visit to Japan in September was a step forward, and based on the exchange at the recent Foreign Ministers' Meeting, both sides should do their best to achieve further substantial progress in the negotiations by the end of the year. It is important for both countries to seek compromise and make maximum efforts towards conclusion of the Treaty.

(3) Responding to this, President Putin made the following statements:

President Putin stated that he has learned very much from Prime Minister Mori as well as former Prime Ministers. For example, he believes that everyone has acquired a great deal of flexibility. He also stated his belief that the Kawana proposal is a substantial advance, and that the Japanese side took various matters into consideration, and made concessions with this proposal.

However, he also stated his concern that the concessions made by Japan are not sufficiently in line with Russia's point of view. He then said that, at present, as the relations between the two countries have reached a high level, Russia is ready to continue earnestly dedicating itself to negotiations in order to achieve a resolution proposal that can be accepted by both countries.

(4) Prime Minister Mori stated his intention to send the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs to Russia within the year in order to advance the negotiations. President Putin responded by announcing his intention to receive the Foreign Minister as a part of preparations for Prime Minister Mori's visit to Russia.

(5) Prime Minister Mori and President Putin reached an agreement on the need to clearly indicate to the world the direction in which Japan-Russia relations are headed.

Also, President Putin stated that people's expectations should not be raised only to be let down.

In response, Prime Minister Mori stated that there existed a relationship of strong trust between himself and President Putin as well as between Japan and Russia; that this was a very crucial time for us all; that it was important to consider what would be necessary to realize comprehensive developments; that, since time was limited, they should not waste it; and that cooperation must be conducted from a more comprehensive and lofty perspective.

(6) Afterwards, the two leaders continued their dialogue alone for some time. At the beginning, Prime Minister Mori showed President Putin a photograph of Irkutsk, a place with which his father had an association. President Putin, on seeing the photograph, asked if it would be possible for him to keep it, at which point Prime Minister Mori happily gave him the photograph.

Finally, Prime Minister Mori stated that he was ready to visit Russia within the year if specific progress in the negotiations was achieved. In response, President Putin stated that he would like, by all means, to welcome Prime Minister Mori in Irkutsk, and the two leaders agreed to hold the next Japan-Russia Summit in Irkutsk.