MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - The Japanese side regrets that the issue of signing a peace agreement between Russia and Japan lacks progress.
"No development can be witnessed as to the talks on the signing of a peace agreement, which are a part of 'the Japanese-Russian action plan,'" Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told Interfax on an interview.
"One should seek certain progress in this area in order to bring Japanese-Russian relations to a higher level," the minister said.
Speaking about Japanese-Russian interaction in the international arena, Komura noted that "Japan hails the fact that Russia is extending its involvement in the Asian-Pacific region."
The issue of bilateral cooperation on organizing the 2012 APEC summit in Vladivostok is being discussed, the minister said.
"Japan is going to continue working on a broad range of issues within the framework of bilateral and multilateral formats, primarily the Group of Eight and the APEC," Komura said.
The full version of Komura's interview will be appear on the Interfax.ru web site and in the Vremay Novostei newspaper on Monday, April 14.