Russian president thanks Japan PM for invitation to APEC summit

MOSCOW. November 4. KAZINFORM Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thanked Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan Thursday for an invitation to the 18th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, due in Yokohama next week; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

Medvedev's letter to Kan was released on the Kremlin's website, in which the president said he was going to participate in the discussions actively.

"I share the view about the importance of APEC's role in expanding multilateral political and economic interaction in the Asia-Pacific region aimed at looking for efficient responses to modern challenges," Medvedev said in his letter.

However, Medvedev didn't mention the recent disputes over four disputed Pacific islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, focusing instead on the joint search of ways to economic recovery after the global crisis.

Moscow and Tokyo exchanged emotional statements this week after Medvedev visited the island of Kunashir that has been claimed by Japan along with three other Kuril islands. Japan recalled its ambassador from Moscow on the height of this spat; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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