日ロ首脳、初の電話会談へ　２９日で調整

　日ロ両政府は、菅義偉首相とプーチン大統領による初の電話会談を２９日に行う方向で調整に入った。日本政府関係者が２６日明らかにした。首相は電話会談を北方領土問題の解決に向けた関係構築の足掛かりにしたい考えだ。（2020/09/26-19:26）

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga may talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Tuesday, it was learned Saturday.
   The Japanese and Russian governments are working to arrange the phone talks by the two leaders for Tuesday, Japanese officials said. The Suga-Putin phone conversation will be the first since the prime minister took office on Sept. 16 to succeed Shinzo Abe.
   The Japanese side hopes that Suga will build a relationship with Putin through the phone talks as Tokyo aims to advance bilateral negotiations to resolve the two countries' long-standing territorial dispute over Russian-controlled four northwestern Pacific islands.
   When he was in office as prime minister of Japan, Abe promoted diplomacy between the two nations based on his personal relationship of trust with Putin.
   Putin, who sent a congratulatory message to Suga immediately after he was elected prime minister in the Diet, Japan's parliament, apparently wants the new Japanese leader to follow Abe's policy line. In the message, Putin said that he is ready to engage in constructive cooperation with Suga over bilateral and international issues.