What's happening in the world next week
Abe and Putin to meet in Singapore next week
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting in Singapore next week.
The meeting will take place during Putin’s three-day visit to Singapore from Nov 13, on the fringe of gatherings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The key issue will be sovereignty over the Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan, which has prevented the two countries from concluding a post-World War II peace treaty.
In September, Putin made a proposal to conclude such a treaty without setting any preconditions.
Japan and Russia held a meeting of senior diplomats in Moscow on Oct 31 to lay the groundwork for a bilateral summit. The diplomats mainly discussed joint economic activities on the disputed islands off Hokkaido.
