The Liberal Democratic Party＊s?Muneo Suzuki, quoting a senior Russian diplomat, has said that Moscow may?arrange a meeting of the Japanese and Russian foreign ministers in July.

Suzuki, a member of the House of Councilors, met with Andrey Rudenko, Russia＊s deputy foreign minister in charge of Asian affairs, and other Russian officials in Moscow on Monday.

According to the Japanese lawmaker, Rudenko said that Moscow would be ready to arrange?a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of a summit?related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations?to be held in the Philippines.

The Russian side is not planning to attach conditions for the possible bilateral meeting, such as Japan lifting its sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Suzuki also said.

If a Motegi-Lavrov meeting is realized, it would be the first for the countries＊?foreign ministers since the February 2022 start of Russia＊s war against Ukraine.

Russia is apparently trying to figure out Japan＊s response by suggesting that it is ready to soften its stance toward the East Asian nation, at a time when the two countries＊ relations have deteriorated considerably.

Citing the Japanese sanctions, Russia has unilaterally suspended its peace treaty talks with Tokyo, which includes?the long-standing territorial dispute over four Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands.

The islands were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II. The?issue has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.

Suzuki arrived in Moscow on Sunday for his first visit to Russia since late last year. This is his fourth trip to the country since the?invasion of Ukraine.

In Monday＊s talks, Suzuki called on Russia to agree on restarting a program allowing former Japanese residents of the disputed islands to visit their family graves there. He?stressed?that this year marks the 70th anniversary?of the normalization of diplomatic relations under the 1956 Japan-Soviet joint declaration.

On Tuesday, Suzuki is slated to meet with Mikhail Galuzin, Russia＊s deputy foreign minister?for issues related to former Soviet republics, to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Galuzin is a former Russian ambassador to Japan.