Abe declares summit with Putin needed to resolve territorial row

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin must take place in order for the countries to forge a peace treaty.

Japan and Russia never signed a peace treaty after World War II because of conflicting claims over islands north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, which Japan calls its "Northern Territories".

When asked about Putin in a news conference, Abe said, "We both recognize that 70 years after the war's end, to not have concluded a peace treaty is abnormal."