Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, agreed Saturday to promote talks to address the territorial row over four Russia-controlled islands off Hokkaido.
During the meeting on the sidelines of a security meeting in Munich, the two ministers confirmed that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet for talks on Feb. 8 in Sochi, Russia.
Putin is also expected to visit Japan this year.