Ushakov: Putin's visit to Japan within the year

A foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Japan’s economic cooperation with Russia and progress in the two countries’ long-standing territorial dispute are totally unrelated, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Yuri Ushakov said that Putin is expected to visit Japan this year, according to Interfax.

At a meeting with Putin in Sochi, Russia, on May 6, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presented to Russia an eight-point cooperation plan, mainly on economic aid.

(JIJI PRESS)