Japan to Wait for Russian Conditions over Sakhalin-2: Kishida

Naha, Okinawa Pref., July 1 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will wait to see what conditions Russia will present to allow Japanese companies to keep their stakes in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to transfer all rights to Sakhalin-2 to a new Russian company in a move apparently aimed at seizing the project. Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co. <8031> and Mitsubishi Corp. <8058> invest in the project. "We must pay close attention to what terms of contract will be presented. We'll communicate thoroughly with the companies and consider responses," Kishida told reporters at Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan. Shareholders in the current operator of the project other than Russia's state-run Gazprom have one month to decide whether to accept the conditions that will be presented by Russia. At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said Japan's interests linked to natural resources must not be impaired. END