Japanese PM Abe to visit Russia next week![]() April 30, 2016 - 17:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Kremlin has announced that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin, a step toward deepening relations overshadowed by a World War II territorial dispute, the Associated Press reports. Saturday, April 30's announcement said Putin would host Abe next Friday in Sochi, the Black Sea city where the 2014 Winter Olympics were held. The foreign ministers of both countries met two weeks ago and agreed to schedule a meeting of their leaders this year, but no date had been officially announced. Abe has been pushing to make progress in the dispute over Russian-held islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the southern Kurils in Russia, which has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities. Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. Partner news |