Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Monday to seek progress in bilateral territorial talks to resolve a dispute that has prevented the two countries from signing a World War II peace treaty.
Abe told Putin that he wants to instruct his ministers to "increase the depth of Japan-Russia relations," according to a Japanese official, as the leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit that started earlier in the day in Bali, Indonesia.
The meeting was their fourth over the last seven months. The high frequency signals that they have been steadily building mutual trust toward concluding a peace treaty, Japanese officials said.