SOCHI (Sputnik) — A territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty after World War II behind Tokyo's claims to Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan islands and the Habomai group of islets dividing the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean.
Moscow maintains that the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty transferring control of the islands to the Soviet Union stipulates Russian sovereignty over the Kurils, which Tokyo classifies as its northern territories.
"We are ready and willing to maintain dialogue with all partners, including Japan, be it the peace treaty and the related territorial issue," Putin said at a news conference following the Russia-ASEAN summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
