Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is aiming to visit Russia in early February for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a peace treaty, Liberal Democratic Party member Muneo Suzuki said Thursday.

Mori made the comment to Suzuki, who recently returned from a visit to Russia, in a meeting at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, Suzuki told reporters.

Mori, who had initially wanted to make the visit in January, said he hopes the two countries will be able to make a formal decision on the schedule during Foreign Minister Yohei Kono's Jan. 16-17 visit to Russia, according to Suzuki.

Mori and Putin agreed in November to meet in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, for talks on the peace pact on condition that progress is made on a long-standing territorial dispute in negotiations up to the foreign ministerial level.

Japan and Russia agreed in 1997 to strive to resolve the territorial row and conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2000. But now that the target has all but passed, Mori hopes to seek a new approach for resolving the dispute the next time he meets Putin.

At issue is a string of islands off northeast Hokkaido that were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

Suzuki also told reporters Thursday that he received a message from Putin on Wednesday through the Russian Foreign Ministry that it would be difficult to realize the visit in January.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said at a news conference that the government hopes the visit will be soon.

"We believe it would be good if a chance for summit talks comes as early as possible, to show our willingness to make progress in the development of bilateral ties," the top government spokesman said.