Japan and Russia to hold talks on disputed islands

Japan and Russia will hold consultations in Moscow on August 19 involving their deputy foreign ministers on a long-running territorial dispute, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday, according to a Kyodo news report. The meeting between Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov is expected to discuss claims by Tokyo and Moscow over the Russian-held islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, sources close to bilateral ties said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed at a summit in Moscow in April to accelerate the stalled territorial talks in a bid to resolve a dispute that has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty, the Kyodo report added.