Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with President of the Democratic Party of Japan, Member of the Japanese Parliament’s House of Representatives, Ichiro Ozawa
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon,
I am delighted to meet with you and I am glad to note that interest in the development of bilateral relations is growing not only between business communities or government agencies, but also between political parties.
This is very important because in the present-day world amid the turbulent processes in the international arena and within countries it is important to create stability in inter-state relations. Stability, like the continuity of all the best that has been achieved in recent years, cannot be achieved and attained without the support of the broadest spectrum of political forces in our countries.
We appreciate the attention you pay to the development of Russo-Japanese relations. We hope that the Democratic Party will continue to support all our efforts aimed at promoting economic and humanitarian links, and developing political dialogue.
Ichiro Ozawa (as translated): Thank you very much, Your Excellency Mr Putin. First of all I would like to thank you for taking time out of your tight schedule to visit Japan. Unfortunately, I do not often have a chance to visit your country. However, the grandfather of Mr Hatoyama, the Secretary-General of our Party, was Prime Minister when the diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were normalised. Mr Hatoyama made a major contribution to the cause of bilateral relations between Japan and Russia. He has been working very hard.
Yours is a very big, a vast country. Our country is on the edge of the East, but nevertheless I believe that our relations are very important. As Your Excellency has just noted, we should promote our bilateral relations in all the sectors, including the economy, culture, politics and so on. I am convinced of this.
