With Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to consolidate his political position with a victory in next month's presidential elections, it is more likely that Russia will try to solve a long-standing territorial dispute with Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday.
The remarks came during an annual government-sponsored convention to seek the return of four islands off Hokkaido, which were occupied by the then Soviet Union at the end of World War II and are still held by Russia.
"I have the impression that President Putin has realized that solving the Northern Territories issue, and thereby concluding a peace treaty (with Japan), would not only be in the interests of Japan, but also in the interests of Russia," Koizumi told the audience at Kudan Kaikan hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
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