Peace Treaty: Abe Putin and Japanese Official

peace treaty: Japan hopes the joint activities, once started, will pave the way for addressing a decades-long territorial dispute with Russia that has prevented the two from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II. The vice ministerial meeting will precede talks planned between Abe and Putin in September on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vladivostok, the official said, according to The Japan Times. The leaders also agreed to cooperate in arranging special grave visits by former residents of the islands by chartered plane in September. Abe and Putin agreed to hold a vice foreign ministerial meeting in late August in Moscow as part of an effort to craft specific projects for such activities, a senior Japanese official told reporters after the two leaders spoke on the fringes of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. The visits were originally scheduled for June, but were called off at the last moment on two days due to bad weather. Putin said he is glad the two sides are having such active dialogue, which he said he hopes will make it possible for us to resolve decades-old problems, according to Russia's Tass news agency. At the meeting, part of which was open to the media, Abe said, We would like to further develop a relationship of trust between the two countries by promoting joint economic activities, as well as the grave visits and visits to former residents' hometowns in a freer way. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.