Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, reaffirmed Thursday that Japan and Russia will enhance ties to advance their peace treaty negotiations.

The ties will be made in various fields based on a series of previous agreements reached by the two countries' leaders, according to a Foreign Ministry official.

To that end, Obuchi and Ivanov agreed on the importance of holding a bilateral summit before the Group of Eight meeting in Okinawa in July, the official said.

The reaffirmation comes after former Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned on New Year's Eve, appointing Vladimir Putin as acting president.

Ivanov arrived in Japan on Thursday from North Korea on a four-day visit. He is scheduled to hold talks today with his Japanese counterpart, Yohei Kono, with the aim of reinvigorating the stalled bilateral peace treaty negotiations.

During talks Thursday evening at the Prime Minister's official residence, Obuchi praised recent positive developments in Tokyo-Moscow relations and conveyed to Ivanov Japan's intention of enhancing dialogue based on a series of bilateral agreements already in place, the official said.

Ivanov stressed that Russia is committed to peace treaty talks with Japan, saying the two sides should strive to find ways that are acceptable to both sides, the official said.

Regarding the anticipated visit to Japan by a Russian president, Obuchi expressed Japan's desire to realize this as early as possible, hopefully before the Okinawa G8, the official said.

It is believed that Putin is most likely to win an upcoming Russian presidential election scheduled later in March.

Expressing understanding, Ivanov promised to convey Obuchi's words to Putin and strive to work out details, the official said.

With respect to the upcoming Okinawa G8, Obuchi sought Russian cooperation in making the summit a success, the official said.

Ivanov said Russia is ready to cooperate with Japan to that end, saying the upcoming summit will be an important opportunity for member countries to discuss contentious international issues.

Ivanov also handed Obuchi a letter from Putin, the contents of which have not been released.

The Foreign Ministry believes that the Russian stance as expressed by Ivanov is a clear indication that Moscow will follow a series of agreements, including the 1993 Tokyo Declaration and the 1997 Krasnoyarsk Agreement, to resolve a long-standing territorial row and sign a peace treaty, the official said.

The Krasnoyarsk agreement, signed in 1997 between then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin and then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, calls on the two countries to "strive" to conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2000.

Based on these accords, Japan and Russia have pledged to attempt to resolve their decades-long territorial row centering on Russian-held islands off Hokkaido. Neither side, however, has been willing to give up their claim over the disputed islands.

The islands -- seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War II -- are known in Japan as Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets. In Russia, they are called the Southern Kurils.

Earlier in the day, Kono told reporters he would try to confirm with Ivanov that Tokyo and Moscow will observe the top-level agreements aimed at advancing peace treaty negotiations.

Kono's comment came in response to Ivanov's comment Tuesday in Moscow that Russia is skeptical about the prospects of concluding a peace treaty with Japan by the end of this year.

"During the upcoming talks with Foreign Minister Ivanov, we will discuss the continuity of the Tokyo Declaration, the Krasnoyarsk Agreement and the Kawana Agreement," Kono told a news conference before the meeting. "We are aware of his comment, but we do not consider it to be a Russian denial of these agreements."