Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and they agreed to advance negotiations for a postwar peace treaty between their countries.In pursuit of that goal, Kishida later told reporters Japan will first seek to settle the issue of the status of four islands lying to the northeast of Hokkaido, now controlled by Russia.During the 25-minute conversation with Putin, Kishida said he expressed his desire to develop Japan-Russia relations in a mutually beneficial manner and the president responded he wants to continue dialogu…READ FULL ARTICLE
