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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori

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Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Dear Yoshiro, I'm very glad to see you in Moscow again. Much of what you did while still in office is being followed up on now. There's an ongoing political dialogue, and economic ties continue to develop. Unfortunately, bilateral trade dropped almost by half in 2009, but it bounced back in the first six months of this year, growing by 43%. Large Japanese companies are investing in the Russian economy, notably heavyweights such as Toyota and Komatsu.  Cooperation in the energy sector is progressing. We are seeing great potential. We expect our friends in Japan to support us. We see a very important tendency, which consists in that, despite changes in the government, the general course toward advancing Russian-Japanese and Japanese-Russian relations is sustained both in Japan and here. Back home, you will probably see this tendency continue, as well. I'm very glad to see you. Welcome!

Yoshiro Mori: Thanks a lot. I hear you have a very busy schedule. I'm very glad that we've been able to meet up nonetheless. And that you've invited me to your place. I'm very glad indeed.

First of all, let me express my condolences in connection with [this week's] terror attack in Vladikavkaz, which has claimed many human lives and left many people injured. You were absolutely right in pointing out that the key question facing the world today is how to eradicate terrorism. Terror attacks have occurred in both Japan and Russia this year, and that's horrible.

This year, we had an unusually hot summer in Japan, and this was the case in Russia, too. I heard about the wildfires devastating your country and I felt for all those affected.

I'd also like to share something personal with you. In January this year, my mother died. And I then got a very warm letter from you. Let me thank you once again for that.

Vladimir Putin: And, I'd like to express my condolences once again.

Yoshiro Mori: In keeping with my mother's last will, I buried some of her ashes in the village of Shelekhovo, in the Irkutsk Region, late this August. I appreciate that Mr Mezentsev [the governor of the Irkutsk Region], the mayor and the regional authorities helped us arrange a good funeral for my mother. I'd like to preserve this good tradition of the Mori family, and this time around, I've brought along fifteen people who didn't attend my mother's funeral. I hope someone will carry on with this tradition.

Vladimir Putin: The fact that your mother wished to be laid to rest beside your father, in Irkutsk, in our Russian soil, highlights that unique relationship between your family and Russia. It evokes a very special kind of feeling, which is hard to put into words. This is a sign of your sincere aspiration to consolidate all the best things there are to Russian-Japanese relations. This shows that in Russia and Japan, there are many people who realise the importance of Russian-Japanese cooperation, and they will do their best to solidify it.