Japan and Russia have agreed in principle that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Vladimir Putin should hold talks on the fringes of November's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing, sources said.
With the government giving up on its plan to host Putin in Tokyo this fall, it is now set to hold fresh talks with Moscow to push for a visit by Putin next year, the sources said Friday.
The planned trip had become nearly impossible, as Washington asked Tokyo to postpone it because the U.S. and European nations slapped Russia with sanctions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Japan has also participated in the sanctions against Russia.