No Results from Abe's Conciliation toward Putin: Kishida

Tokyo, March 17 (Jiji Press)--Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conciliatory stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin did not produce results for Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

Kishida also ruled out changes to the government's fiscal 2022 draft budget regarding economic cooperation with Moscow.

At a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan's parliament, Kishida said that the Abe administration "unfortunately did not meet its target" of making progress in negotiations to resolve the two countries' territorial dispute and conclude a World War II peace treaty.

The comment came in response to a question by Renho of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, who said that Abe had cozied up to Putin during his tenure.

As prime minister, Abe met with Putin a total of 27 times, including in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, where Abe's electoral district is located.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]