Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePutin praised Abe's peace treaty efforts despite unresolved Kuril Islands dispute and strained Russia-Japan relations due to Ukraine conflict.
(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, saying he knew the slain Japanese leader had dreamt of finally concluding a post-World War Two peace treaty.
No treaty was ever signed as the two countries could not resolve a dispute over the then-Soviet Union's seizure at the end of the war of four islands in the Southern Kuril chain, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
Russian media said Abe and Putin met altogether 27 times during the nearly nine years the Japanese leader was in office. Abe left office in 2020 and was assassinated two years later while making an election campaign speech.
"I know that his dream - and he truly strived to achieve this - was to conclude a peace treaty between our two countries. The situation is different now," the Russian leader said.
Putin, whose comments to Abe's widow in the Kremlin were reported by Russian news agencies, also said fulfilling that dream was not possible in the current international situation given the conflict in Ukraine.
"Your husband did a great deal for the development of Russian-Japanese relations. We had very good personal relations," Putin was quoted as telling Akie Abe.
Russia's relations with Japan have been strained by Tokyo's support for sanctions imposed by Ukraine's Western allies over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. All negotiations on clinching a peace treaty have been suspended.
Akie Abe told Putin, according to the agencies, that her husband had wanted to meet Putin even after the start of the Ukraine conflict "but unfortunately circumstances were such that he was no longer able to meet you. His life was cut short."
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Howard Goller)
Putin acknowledged that Abe dreamed of concluding a peace treaty between Russia and Japan, stating that he truly strived to achieve this.
No treaty was ever signed due to unresolved disputes over the Soviet Union's seizure of four islands at the end of World War Two.
Russia's relations with Japan have been strained by Tokyo's support for sanctions imposed by Ukraine's Western allies following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Akie Abe conveyed that her husband had wanted to meet Putin even after the start of the Ukraine conflict, but circumstances prevented that from happening.
Russian media reported that Abe and Putin met a total of 27 times during Abe's nearly nine years in office.
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