Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Japan in June, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Monday during a trip to Moscow, describing part of what Japan's top envoy hoped would be a "historic year" in 2019.
Kono, who spoke ahead of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met his Russian counterpart in an endeavor to inject fresh momentum into talks toward concluding a postwar peace treaty amid a decadeslong territorial dispute.
"I'd like to have an intensive discussion on a peace treaty," Kono said at the outset of the meeting.