Putin and Abe hold summit to break islands impasse

Talks focus on cooperation on decades-old disagreement over the disputed islands

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks in Moscow on Tuesday seeking to resolve a territorial issue over a disputed island chain that has long prevented the two countries from concluding a peace treaty to formally end World War II.

Abe's visit marks the 25th time he and Putin have met since 2013, a reflection of their efforts to increase cooperation despite the decades-old disagreement over the island chain, known as the Kurils in Russia, and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Putin said he was glad meetings with Abe have become "quite regular", allowing the two leaders to discuss issues related to fostering bilateral relations and the situation in the region.

On the opening of the talks, Putin said the two sides have worked through many issues, including the economy, foreign affairs and a peace treaty.

Abe said bilateral relations between Japan and Russia have brought about substantial results under the framework of mutual cooperation plans in various areas.

Abe noted that 2018 was a turning point for Japanese-Russian relations, and pointed out that there are more important events planned in Japan in 2019, such as the G20 summit in Osaka.

Russia's Tass News Agency said the Japanese leader departed soon after the talks on Tuesday.

Abe's Moscow visit is the first leg of a trip to Europe, which will also include a speech at the Davos forum in Switzerland on Wednesday.

Abe said in an interview published on Monday by Russia's Kommersant daily that he and Putin have fully agreed to resolve the dispute "with our own hands and not pass the problem on to future generations".

Abe said he was looking forward to discussing issues of major concern for both sides, based on meetings between foreign ministers and senior officials in charge of the negotiations last week.

"In addition, I look forward to a frank exchange of views on bilateral relations and international issues to make further development of bilateral relations in broader areas," Abe said to Putin in the meeting.

The Soviet army took the four islands, between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, in the last days of World War II.

Tokyo's refusal to recognize Moscow's sovereignty over the islands has obstructed the path to peace for more than seven decades.

Despite a flurry of diplomacy since November, when the two leaders agreed to step up peace talks, recent statements from both capitals have dampened hopes of a breakthrough.

Moscow responded angrily to Abe's New Year's message, in which he said Russians living on the islands should be helped to accept that the "sovereignty of their homes will change".

In November, Putin and Abe agreed to accelerate treaty negotiations based on a 1956 joint declaration. It states that after a treaty is concluded, two of the four islands would be handed over to Japan.

Abe reportedly wants to finalize the broad terms of an agreement when Putin comes to Japan for the G20 in June. But a Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed expectations of a quick resolution in a news conference on Monday.

Several protests were held in recent weeks against ceding any territory to Japan.

On Sunday, between 300 and 500 protesters gathered on Suvorovskaya Square, outside Moscow city center, for an authorized rally called by several nationalist politicians opposing any move to cede any of the four islands.

Meanwhile, a poll by an independent Russian pollster – the Levada Center - last month suggested that 74 percent of Russians would not support exchanging some of the islands for a peace deal, while only 17 percent said they would.