MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - If Vladimir Putin wins the presidential elections Moscow will continue the search for political mutual understanding with Tokyo by broadening cooperation in various areas, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"Vladimir Putin is extremely well versed in the 'territorial' theme and he has experience in dealing with Japanese leaders," he said in an interview published by the daily Izvestia on Friday.
New and promising cooperation projects in the energy sector, including nuclear, and also in the high-technology and machine-building industries, were launched after Putin's visit to Tokyo in 2009, he said.
Broader ties in this sphere, as well as full-scale cooperation in the international arena on security problems, would create a favorable background for expanding the dialogue on political issues," the Russian foreign minister said.
The South Kurils are part of Russia's territory in accordance with international law and the outcome of World War II, sealed in the UN Charter.
"We deem it important to consider complicated historical problems primarily in dialogue between historians. Public debates, particularly confrontational, only incite the polar sentiment and antagonize society. This is not making settlement any nearer," Lavrov said.