MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and Japan’s foreign ministers discussed plans for joint economic activity on the Russian-held southern Kuril islands that Japans lays claim to, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in July said Moscow planned to set up a special economic zone with no customs duties and a reduced set of taxes on the island chain, during a visit to the islands that elicited a diplomatic protest from Tokyo.
(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Jon Boyle)