Russian President Vladimir Putin to Visit Japan This Year

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe making preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan this year.

President Vladimir is visit Japan for two major issues i. e. to move forward the stalled territorial negotiations and the other to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing.

Security environment in East Asia has become increasingly sever because China has been raising its territorial ambitions and military buildup. Japan does not want to push Russia further to the Chinese side, said Japanese officials.

In a two-day meeting through Monday in Germany, Abe and his Group of Seven counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States vowed to continue punitive measures on Russia unless it changes course.

During talks on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit in Beijing last November, Abe and Putin agreed to start preparations for such a trip at an appropriate time in 2015.

President Putin's visit would likely bring about an improvement in bilateral ties, majorly in the economical grounds.

Although Russia has been hot by Western sanctions, the ruble's fall and lower crude oil prices, there are signs that the country has strengthened relations with China

So far the most significant development that has been pointed out was a May 8 agreement between Putin and President Xi Jinping to eventually link the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union and Beijing's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

Daniel Twining, senior fellow for Asia at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said, "We have to watch out for any kind of Russia-China axis. We can also say that there are forces within this Russia-China relationship. . . . I actually think this is a fundamentally competitive relationship in Central Asia".