China News Agency, Moscow, August 11 (Reporter Wang Xiujun) The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on its website on the 11th that the foreign ministers of Russia and Japan talked on the phone on the same day to discuss plans for joint economic activities in the South Kuril Islands (the four northern islands in Japan). .
According to the news, at the initiative of the Japanese side, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi had a telephone conversation.
In the meantime, the two sides discussed the implementation of the agreement of the leaders of Russia and Japan on the comprehensive development of bilateral relations, including the expansion of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
Both parties paid special attention to the implementation of joint hydrogen energy projects in the Russian Far East and joint economic activities in the Southern Kuril Islands.
The news mentioned that the two sides exchanged views on the peace treaty dialogue and discussed the schedule for further contacts between Russia and Japan.
The South Kuril Islands are the southward extension of the Kuril Islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Russia has not signed a peace treaty during the day because of the issue of the ownership of the South Kuril Islands.
Currently, the South Kuril Islands are actually under Russian control.
In May 2016, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed to improve Japan-Russia relations with "new ideas", that is, abandoning the principle of non-separation of politics and economy for many years, and replacing it with the policy of parallel advancement of economic cooperation and peace treaty negotiations.
In December of that year, Russian President Putin visited Japan, during which the two sides agreed to jointly develop the South Kuril Islands, creating a good atmosphere for the signing of a peace treaty.
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