MOSCOW, October 17, SPA -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expects the coming talks in Tokyo to be "rather effective." He spoke about it in an interview with the JiJi Press News Agency of Japan on the eve of his visit to Tokyo. "The main task of the coming meetings and talks with the new Japanese leaders in Tokyo will be, in my opinion, the confirmation of the willingness of the negotiating parties to consolidate the positive dynamics of bilateral relations, and to promote the expansion of cooperation in practical spheres and in the international arena. Russian-Japanese relations are on the rise," he said. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/491012