(VOVworld) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday that he intends to visit Russia to continue talks on resolving territorial disputes and signing a peace deal with Moscow.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a press conference in Tokyo on January 5, 2017 (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Japan to meet with Abe. The two leaders agreed to negotiate disposition of the disputed islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and Habomai, which Russia calls the Southern Kuril and Japan calls the Northern Territory. The dispute kept Russia and Japan from signing a peace deal following World War II.