TOKYO. Nov 5 (Interfax) - The ongoing consultations in the 2+2 format between the Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers are not intended to infringe on the Tokyo-Washington relationship, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.
"The 2+2 format does not infringe on Japan's relations with the U.S. or any other country, and we also hope that Japan's relations with the U.S. will not cause problems to Russia," Lavrov said at a press conference following the negotiations in this format on Saturday.
"We never maintain friendship with anyone against someone else in principle," Lavrov said.
Moscow does not want any country, including that in the Asia-Pacific region, to feel discomfort in terms of security, he said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged at the same press conference that "the Japanese-American alliance still occupies the central place in our foreign policy."
"Nevertheless, deeper cooperation in the security area between Japan and Russia as major players in Eastern Asia will make a contribution to our region's stability," he said.
"We agreed at our today's meeting on such steps as new joint exercises to oppose terrorism and piracy," he said.