Abe forced to call off visit to Russia to attend Victory Day celebrations

The novel coronavirus pandemic has scuttled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to visit Russia to attend ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union, government sources said. Abe had initially planned to attend the ceremony in the hope of holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance stalled peace treaty negotiations with Russia over the disputed Northern Territories. However, the two countries...