MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba may visit Russia this summer to discuss the problem of the South Kuril Islands among other subjects, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow said in a statement.
The leaders of the two countries have agreed once again to intensify negotiations on the territorial problem and instructed the foreign ministries of their countries to hold a substantive discussion in a calm atmosphere, the statement says.
In addition, Japan decided to agree upon Foreign Minister Gemba's visit to Moscow, possibly this summer, to discuss the development of relations between the two countries in a broad range of areas, including the territorial problem, it said.
Japan is disputing Russia's sovereignty over four southern islands of the Kuril Ridge, which became part of the Soviet territory following WWII. To substantiate its claims, Tokyo refers to the Russian-Japanese Treaty on Trade and Borders dated 1855. Moscow argues that the four islands' becoming part of the Soviet territory was a result of WWII formalized in line with international law, and so Russia's sovereignty over them is undisputable.