By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries that has been held up since the end of the World War II.
Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said Sunday Medvedev will meet Fukuda at a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations to be held in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido July 7-9.
A dispute over the South Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, which were annexed by the erstwhile Soviet Union during World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace deal.
The absence of a peace treaty between the two countries has restricted bilateral trade and economic relations.
Prikhodko said the two leaders would also discuss investment opportunities in view of the plans to develop Russia’s Far East and east Siberia.