Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaled the possibility of an agreement on proposed joint economic activities on a group of Moscow-held islands claimed by Japan, while repeating its position that the projects should be conducted under Russian legislation.
"The cornerstone should be set not on obsession with the legal side of the matter but primarily joint economic activity. This is the essence," Lavrov said in a recent group interview by media organizations ahead of his visit to Japan next week.
In May, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss the potential cooperation on the islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, after the two leaders agreed to launch talks about the initiative in December 2016.