MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Military cooperation between Russia and Japan, including forthcoming consultations in the 2+2 format were in focus of talks between Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and Japanese Ambassador to Russian Toyohisa Kozuki, the Russian defense ministry said on Friday.

"The sides discussed issues of bilateral military cooperation, including upcoming consultations in the 2+2 format involving defense and foreign ministers of the two countries," the ministry said.

After the Moscow talks with his visiting Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, on May 10 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a meeting between the two countries foreign and defense ministers in the 2+2 format would be held in Tokyo on May 30. The revious such meeting took place in Moscow on July 31, 2018.