Putin, Abe to Determine Officials for Energizing Peace Treaty Talks - Source

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – Vladimir Putin and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will modify the format of peace treaty talks and determine those in charge of energizing the process of negotiations at their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, a source in the Russian delegation at the forum told Sputnik.

"The format will not change, it will just be modified but there will not be any radically new format [of talks]. The leaders will determine the individuals who will be directly engaged in energizing the process of the negotiations on the basis of the [Soviet-Japanese] declaration of 1956. The decision will be made now in Buenos Aires," the source said.

Japan and Russia have never signed a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II due to the territorial dispute over a group of four islands that both countries claim — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai — referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

READ MORE: Russia, Japan Peace Treaty Talks Require Tokyo's Allied Obligations — Kremlin

The G20 summit will be held in Argentina on Friday and Saturday.

Apart from holding talks with Abe, Putin is expected to meet with the leaders of China, France and Germany during the forum.