Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 4th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok will be substantial.

Axar.az informs, he said it in an interview published by Sankei newspaper on Sunday.

"Mr. Putin and I will hold a substantial discussion," he said. "I’d like to resolve the problem of sovereignty over the four islands that make up the northern territories [the way the Japanese refer to the Southern Kurile Islands - Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and the Habomai archipelago] and to sign a peace treaty."

Sankei said in this connection the meeting in Vladivostok would be the 22nd one for Putin and Abe.

As of the middle of the 20th century, Russia and Japan have been holding intermittent consultations on elaboration of a peace treaty to formalize the completion of World War II.

The problem of sovereignty over the Southern Kuriles remains the stumbling block in the process. Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the uninhabited Habomai islets went over to the USSR upon the results of the war but Japan challenges the Soviet/Russian jurisdiction over them.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said many a time Russia’s sovereignty over them has been formalized in strict compliance with international law and cannot be a subject for discussions.

Vladivostok will host the 4th Eastern Economic Forum from September 11 through September 13. TASS is the general information partner, official photo host and moderator in the zone of investment project presentations at the forum.

The organizers says Abe will bring along with him a 400-strong Japanese delegation.