PREVIEW: Russian Security Council Secretary Patrushev Begins Two-Day Visit To Japan

TOKYO/MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2019) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev starts his two-day visit to Japan on Monday.

The details of the visit and the exact agenda of bilateral talks have not been revealed by either side, but it is expected that US plans to deploy Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in Japan will be discussed.

Security issues related to the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty are also expected to be addressed.

Patrushev is expected to hold talks with the new head of the Japanese National Security Council Secretariat, Shigeru Kitamura, on Tuesday.

The Russian security secretary has already held multiple rounds of talks on security issues with Kitamura's predecessor, Shotaro Yachi.

Patrushev's latest visit to Japan was in October 2018.

In 2017, the Japanese government approved the deployment of the Aegis Ashore systems in the country. Tokyo cited its fears over North Korea as the reason behind the decision. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the deployment of US missile defense systems could threaten regional stability.

The United States withdrew from the INF Treaty in August. The agreement, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987, banned all short-medium and intermediate range ground-launched missiles.

Moscow has been critical of the US decision as it further complicates Russia's negotiations with Japan on the signing of a permanent peace treaty.