TOKYO (Sputnik) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he had secured understanding of US President Donald Trump of the importance of a dialogue with Russia for solving the territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo, media reported Monday.
Abe told the BS Fuji television channel that during his visit to the United States he brought to the attention of the US president Tokyo's plans to hold negotiations with Russia in order to solve the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, according to the Kyodo news agency.
The Japanese prime minister arrived in the United States on Thursday for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump.
1 February 2017, 01:45 GMT
The Kuril Islands are the subject of the long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. Japan lays claim to Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan islands and the Habomai group of islets. The territorial dispute has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty after World War II.
On December 15-16, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Japan to meet Abe, with the sides agreeing to start developing economic cooperation in the disputed area in order to create conditions for negotiations on a peace treaty between the countries.
