TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday expressed his determination to advance negotiations on resolving the country's long-standing territorial row with Russia over four northwestern Pacific islands.

"Japan is resolved to work actively together (with Russia) to find a solution acceptable for both sides and promote negotiations step by step," Abe said in a speech at an annual event for the return of the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.

"We will strive toward the goal of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty with Russia,” he said.

The islands were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II and have been claimed by Japan. The territorial dispute has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.

At their meeting in November 2018, Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to accelerate the bilateral negotiations based on the 1956 Japan-Soviet joint declaration, which stipulated that two of the four islands -- the Habomais and Shikotan -- be handed over to Japan after the conclusion of the peace treaty.

But the Russian side later urged Japan to accept that the islands became Russian territory in a legal way, leading the negotiations to be stalled.

JIJI Press