Kremlin Says Hoping Japan To Be Able To Participate In Future EEF Editions

Pandemic has made travel more complicated, but Russia hopes that Japan will be able to participate in the future editions of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, when asked about Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's absence at the EEF, which has just opened in Vladivostok

VLADIVOSTOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2021) Pandemic has made travel more complicated, but Russia hopes that Japan will be able to participate in the future editions of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, when asked about Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's absence at the EEF, which has just opened in Vladivostok.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato confirmed Suga's absence earlier in the day, adding that the prime minister was not planning a video address either.

"The forum is open to all state leaders in the region but, naturally, not all leaders are that mobile at the moment, and heads of state usually have to adhere to special rules that have to do with the sanitary situation, so we have to take that into account," Peskov told reporters.

The Kremlin spokesman added that Japan regularly took part in the forum in the past.

"And we hope that it will participate in it in the future. As I said, the forum is open to regional leaders," Peskov added.

The forum will continue through Saturday.