PERU - Japanese prime minister Taro Aso told Russian president Dmitry Medvedev at the weekend he would like to end a territorial dispute that has soured bilateral ties since the end of the second World War.
For more than 60 years, Moscow has been reluctant even to discuss Japan's demands that Russia return four disputed Pacific Ocean islands seized by the Red Army in the final days of the war.
The dispute over the territories, known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, has prevented the two states from signing a formal peace treaty since the war ended.
"The problem remains an element which destabilises the situation in the region," Mr Aso told Mr Medvedev at the start of their meeting on the fringes of the Apec economic forum in Lima, Peru.
Promises to keep the islands Russian have often been used by the Kremlin's leaders to revive flagging national spirit. - (Reuters)