TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed Tuesday they should resolve the territorial row over the four Russia-held islands off Hokkaido, saying the dispute hinders bilateral ties.
The meeting between Fukuda and Medvedev on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, was the first since the Russian president took office in May.
"If the territorial row is resolved, bilateral relations will be pulled up to the highest level," Medvedev was quoted as saying by a senior Japanese official. "It could drastically change current relations."