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."