Russia says Japanese leader Abe may visit in May, meet Putin

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may visit Russia in May for a long-awaited meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said today.
"Such a possibility is being considered," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Abe has sought to make progress in a dispute over Russian-held islands that are called the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. The dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty ending their World War II hostilities.
Japanese and Russian media have reported a possible visit and there was renewed diplomatic activity today to prepare for one, but there has been no confirmation from either side. The Kremlin-loyal Izvestia newspaper, citing diplomatic sources, reported today that Abe may meet Putin in Sochi on May 6.

Tomomi Inada, a senior lawmaker of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party who is visiting Moscow, held talks today with Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov and handed him a letter from Abe to Putin, according to Kyodo News.
Inada told Manturov that this year will be an important one for Japan-Russia relations, Kyodo quoted her as saying.
Also today, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was headed to Tokyo, where he would meet with his Japanese counterpart on April 15 to discuss preparations for a meeting between the two leaders.