MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) - During the discussion of a peace treaty at bilateral talks with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin will point out that the Kuril Islands belong to Russia, the Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.
"We are working on the premise that the Kurils Islands went over to the Soviet Union, to Russia, as the result of the Second World War, legally, in accordance with international agreements, and it is based on this axiom that we are having this conversation with Japanese representatives," Ushakov told reporters in advance of the two leaders' talks.
It will be impossible to avoid a discussion of peace treaty at the talks, he said.
"We are working on the premise that to sign a peace treaty there needs to be a proper atmosphere of trust and cooperation, to which end it is necessary to continue to develop bilateral communications and interaction in a variety of areas," Ushakov said.