Important to solve dispute over Russian islands - Japan's foreign minister

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, December 3, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday it was important to solve the issue over disputed Russian islands and to continue talks with Moscow. The chain of western Pacific islands, seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War Two, has precluded a formal peace treaty between the two countries. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Susan Thomas)