Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a conciliatory tone before talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a territorial dispute that’s prevented the countries from signing a World War II peace treaty.
Resolving the conflict over four islands occupied by the Soviet Union in the final days of the war should be part of “setting the stage for the development of inter-governmental relations for the long term,” Putin said in an interview on Thursday as he prepared to meet with Abe at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Friday.
