Abe to Visit Russia from Thursday

May 18, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia for four days from Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday.

Abe's itinerary will include attending an international economic forum in St. Petersburg on May 25 and holding a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the next day.

Major topics at the summit are expected to include the North Korean situation and a bilateral territorial dispute over the four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.

"We'll make all-out efforts to resolve the issue of the Northern Territories and conclude a peace treaty," Suga told a press conference.

The islands were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II and have long been claimed by Japan.

The territorial row has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.

During his Moscow stay, Abe is also slated to attend a ceremony to present an Akita puppy to Russian Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova. Jiji Press