TOKYO (Sputnik) – Japan intends to advance formal peace treaty negotiations with Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a press conference Wednesday.
"We will strengthen relations with China and South Korea, as well as advance negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia," Abe said at a press conference following a cabinet reshuffle that saw Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida retain his post.
The two countries have been de facto at war because Tokyo's claims to Russian Kuril Islands prevented them from signing a truce following the end of World War II.
Abe is reportedly expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Vladivostok in early September.
