RUSSIA-JAPAN: FUKUDA TO MOSCOW AND MEDVEDEV TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001087

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV JA RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA-JAPAN: FUKUDA TO MOSCOW AND MEDVEDEV TO
HOKKAIDO

Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons 1.4 (B/D).


1. (C) Summary. According to Russian officials, PM Fukuda's
April 25 visit to Moscow is designed to continue the positive
bilateral dialogue and prepare for the G8 Summit. The
Japanese Embassy described it as an all-out effort to
maintain the momentum, however small, for the talks on the
territorial issue during Russia's presidential transition.
Medvedev will head the GOR G8 delegation, with Putin
confirming that he will not be in tow. End summary.

Positive Tone
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2. (C) According to MFA officials, the
on-again-off-again-on-again visit by FM Komura to Moscow on
April 15 reinforced the recent "positive" tone in the
relationship. The MFA issued three statements on the
Lavrov-Komura meeting, re-affirming Putin's "promise" (in his
February reply to an earlier Fukuda letter) to bring all
aspects of the bilateral relationship to a higher level.
Lavrov indicated that "trust was growing in the political
dialogue" between the two countries. The FMs agreed to early
June pre-G8 consultations of DFMs in Tokyo. The new DFM on
Asia Aleksey Borodavkin will be in charge of G8 preparations
from the Russian side.

Medvedev Takes the Lead in Hokkaido?
--------------


3. (C) MFA Japan Desk Head Aleksandr Iliyshev told us April
18 that while the GOR did not expect to overcome the
"lingering differences" on the territorial issues soon, its
search for a solution was being aided by the positive
dynamics that had emerged in the bilateral relationship. In
response to whether Putin would be on the Russian delegation
for the Hokkaido G8 meeting, Iliyshev simply repeated the MFA
earlier announcement that Medvedev would lead. On April 18,
Putin re-affirmed to a group of journalists his intention not
to participate in the Hokkaido meeting.

Starting Off Right with Medvedev
--------------


4. (C) Jun Nanazawa of the Japanese Embassy said that the
GOJ made an all-out effort to arrange the Fukuda visit to
Moscow before Medvedev's May 7 inauguration. Amid his
troubles with the Upper House of the Diet, Fukuda canceled
his planned trips to Europe, but decided to keep his Russia
program in order to meet with both Medvedev and Putin before
the Hokkaido G8 Summit. Although a friendly relationship was
initiated during the March 11 Fukuda-Medvedev telephone
conversation, Fukuda wanted to reinforce Medvedev's good
feeling about Japan in Moscow, as well as in Hokkaido. Per
Nanazawa, the GOJ "promised" the GOR not to raise the
territorial issue during main G8 sessions, but to limit it to
the bilateral meetings on the margins. The Japanese Embassy
emphasized the importance of keeping the small momentum
gathered in recent years by continuing a high-level dialogue.
Nanazawa noted that nearly all of the two-hour meeting
between Lavrov and Komura was devoted to the islands.
BURNS