Russian, Japanese Leaders Discuss Joint Economic Activities on S Kuril Islands

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have discussed the prospects of the joint economic activities on South Kuril Islands, among other issues, during their three-hour talks, Abe said Thursday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Putin and Abe held a meeting in the Japanese town of Nagato during the two-day visit of the Russian leader to the Asian nation.

"[We have] thoroughly and frankly discussed the issues of free visit of their homeland by former residents of the islands, joint economic activities between the two countries with a special regime on the islands, as well as the issue of a peace treaty," Abe told journalists.

The Russian-Japanese relations are tainted by the territorial dispute between the two countries. Japan lays claims to the islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, Habomai and Iturup, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories. The territorial dispute has led to the situation that Moscow and Tokyo have never signed a permanent peace treaty after World War II.