SANTIAGO, Chile -- The leaders of Japan and Russia failed to narrow differences over the disputed Kuril Islands in a meeting at the APEC summit, reports said Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for 45 minutes Sunday on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held this year in Santiago, Chile.
Koizumi pressed for a resolution to the issue and for a peace treaty to end the official state of war that still exists between the two nations since World War II.
Putin agreed on the importance of solving the issue, but said later that the nations had not made any mutual concessions, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday.
Both leaders confirmed that they would continue discussions through reciprocal visits of their foreign ministers.
The Soviet Union occupied the four islands, which Japan calls its Northern Territories, following World War II.
Putin accepted a schedule proposed by Koizumi for a visit to Japan during the 2005 Aichi World Exposition, which will begin in March.
The Russian president also invited Koizumi to Moscow celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Germany May 9, along with U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
