Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he wants to advance postwar peace treaty talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin "as much as possible," a day after a ministerial-level meeting demonstrated the differences between the nations' positions on disputed islands.

At a gathering of senior government and ruling bloc officials, Abe explained his plan to make a four-day trip from next Monday, during which he will hold a summit with Putin on Jan. 22. The trip will also take him to the Swiss resort town of Davos to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

The prime minister said he wants to "have a candid discussion" with Putin on a peace treaty, which the two countries never agreed to after the end of World War II.