Japan And Russia Agree That They Should Formally End World War II

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (r.) shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow. Many new circumstances are driving Moscow and Tokyo to take a fresh look at one another, despite the debate that has raged since the end of World War II about the rightful ownership of the Kuril Islands. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Reuters

Japan And Russia Want To Finally End World War II, Agree It Is 'Abnormal' Not To -- Christian Science Monitor

Today's summit between Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin comes at an opportune moment but may founder on the old problem of the Kuril Islands, which Japan still wants back.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin Monday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first top-level Russo-Japanese summit in almost a decade.

The two wrestled for hours with the problem that has stymied Russian and Japanese leaders for almost 70 years: how to find a mutually acceptable and hopefully profitable way to finally end World War II.

"The leaders of both countries agreed that the situation where, 67 years after the conclusion of [World War II], we have still been unable to conclude a bilateral peace treaty, looks abnormal," said a joint statement at the meeting's end Monday.

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My Comment: The issue that prevents such a signing are the Kuril islands. More to the point .... the Russians administer the islands, but Japan claims that the islands belong to them.

Update: Japan and Russia agree to resolve island dispute -- BBC