Japan and Russia agreed Friday to put their deadlocked peace treaty negotiations back on track on the sidelines of the Group of Eight Summit later this month in Canada, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said.

Yasuo Saito, director general of the Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Bureau, met with Alexander Losyukov, Russian vice foreign minister in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs, and another Russian official in Moscow. They agreed to hold talks more frequently on the issue, they said.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit. Saito and the Russian officials agreed to hold foreign ministerial talks on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministerial meeting, the officials said.

The G8 summit is scheduled for June 26-27 in Kananaskis, Alberta, while the G8 foreign ministerial talks will be held June 12-13 in Whistler, British Columbia.