Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left for Russia on Thursday to hold a summit with President Vladimir Putin and to attend an economic forum, with bilateral economic cooperation likely to be high on the agenda.
Prior to the flight to St. Petersburg, Abe told a group of reporters that he hopes to make progress toward the signing of a peace treaty.
“This will be the first summit since President Putin was re-elected and made a new start. I must talk openly and heart-to-heart with President Putin to achieve progress toward a peace treaty,” Abe said.
Abe and Putin on Saturday are scheduled to hold their 21st face-to-face meeting.
The prime minister said he hopes to move ahead with planned joint economic activities on the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which were occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and are claimed by Japan.
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