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Russia, Japan sign economic accord
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-21 18:46
Putin, who arrived in Japan on Sunday for a three-day visit, said stronger
economic relations between Russia and Japan will help improve overall ties
between the countries, which remain strained by the territorial dispute.
Putin will return home with Japan's blessing for its WTO bid. Russia, which
has to strike separate deals with WTO members as a condition for joining the
148-member global trade body, has launched economic and legal reforms in order
to qualify for the membership. It has yet to negotiate a deal with the United
States.
Putin also encouraged Japan companies to invest more in Russia, noting that
Japan accounts for only 1 percent of accumulated foreign investment in his
country.
Putin said also Monday that Russia remains committed to building an oil
pipeline to the Pacific Ocean that would deliver Siberian crude to Japan and
other nations in the region.
"The construction of the oil pipeline ... opens big prospects," Putin said.
Tokyo has voiced a strong interest in a pipeline that would pump the oil to
Russia's Pacific coast for export to Japan, while China, also seeking Russian
oil to drive its booming economy, has pushed for an alternate route.
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