I am in regular contact with Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe. We have met several times this year [2016].

We believe we have no territorial problems at all. It is only Japan that believes it has territorial problems with Russia. We are ready to talk about this.

We were also going to develop relations with the current administration [of Barack Obama], but somehow they did not work out well in key areas and, I believe, not through our fault. I will not list all the problems that emerged in the past few years.

After all, despite the scandalous behavior of one and, by the way, the other candidate [they are both , Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, scandalous in their own ways], they are smart, they are really smart and they are aware of the leverages they should use to make the voters in the United States understand them, feel them and hear them.

Are we not concerned, for example, by the growing danger related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology? All of this poses a clear threat to the world, to the region. However, we have obvious points of convergence that are related to our interests.

Russia is a part of European culture. Therefore, it is with difficulty that I imagine NATO as an enemy.

I would like to deal with a person who is able to take responsible decisions and implement the agreements reached. The name [Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton] does not matter.