Abe visits Russia to mend ties amid islands row

TOKYO/MOSCOW, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Moscow on Sunday as the first Japanese premier to make an official visit to Russia in a decade, seeking chances to jump-start the stalled talks on their territorial dispute and opportunities for business cooperation.

Before kicking off his visit, the Japanese prime minister said in an interview with Russia's Itar-Tass news agency that he wanted to establish personal trust with Russian President Vladimir Putin and tackle their prolonged territory standoff over the four isles, known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Moscow and Tokyo have been at odds over the four isles since the end of World War II, when the former Soviet Union seized them.

The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds, oil wells, natural gas and rich mineral deposits -- all keenly vied for by both countries.

While Japan maintains that the four isles are part of its territory, Russian leaders have repeatedly referred to the islands as a "strategic region" of Russia.

The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from ever signing a post-war peace treaty.

Japan and Russia have made little progress on the territorial dispute over the past years.

Tokyo has been asking Moscow to acknowledge Japan's ownership of all four. In 2011, Japan said it would protest any of Russia's development programs without Japan's permit on the disputed Pacific islands.

Braving the unpredictable weather and predictable reactions, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev visited twice the island of Kunashir, called Kunashiri in Japan, in 2010 and 2012, becoming the first Russian leader to visit the disputed islands.

Medvedev's visit has been seen as "flag demonstration," while Japan described it as "an unallowable affront."

With little hope for a breakthrough on the territorial dispute, Japan and Russia may make achievements on the economic front.

Abe was accompanied by more than 100 Japanese business leaders to Moscow, including executives of banking, healthcare and agriculture companies.

Last year, Russia and energy-hungry Japan reached a preliminary deal on building a liquefied natural gas plant in Vladivostoka.

The two countries are expected to reach further agreements at the Kremlin on Japan's participation in building pipelines and a gas hub in Russia's under-populated east.

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