MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) - Russia will not raise the issue of the Kuril islands at its own initiative at the upcoming Friday meeting of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the sidelines of the G8 summit in Deauville.
"We don't plan to discuss the issue of the Kurils," senior Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko said to reporters.
He said Medvedev and Kan are expected to pay special attention to the issue of mitigation of the natural and industrial disasters caused by the March 11 destructive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The Russian side "is ready for close interaction with Japan in guaranteeing the safety of nuclear power engineering on a bilateral as well as multilateral basis, including the framework of IAEA," Prikhodko said.
"We are also set on serious joint efforts under the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. We expect Japan to ratify it in the nearest future," the aide said.
In his opinion, Russia and Japan have prospects of interaction in power engineering, including an increase in deliveries of Russian fuel to Japan and the involvement of Japanese business in the implementation of major long-term projects in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
The meeting is also expected to mull the expansion and diversification of mutual trade, greater cooperation in the modernization of the Russian economy and its innovative development.
Prikhodko felt that the two leaders will exchange opinions on pressing issues of the regional agenda, namely the situation on the Korean peninsula.