Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Russian President Vladmir Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing in November, the two leaders agreed Tuesday, a Japanese official said.
The decision comes as Abe tries to walk a fine line between joining the West in sanctions over Russia's involvement in the Ukraine conflict and forging closer economic and energy ties after five summits with Putin last year.
During a 10-minute phone conversation, the two leaders also discussed Japan-Russia ties and Abe urged Putin to stabilize the situation in Ukraine, Noriaki Ikeda of the Foreign Ministry said.
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