NAGOYA /Japan/, November 22. /TASS/. Japan and Russia have agreed that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will pay his first visit to Russia in mid-December, the Japanese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

"The ministers agreed that Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi will visit Russia in mid-December for consultations on a peace treaty and other bilateral issues, if circumstances permit," he said following Motegi’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held in Nagoya.

According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, during the talks the parties will discuss joint economic activity on the southern Kuril Islands and trips by former Japanese residents there. Motegi also called for cultivating economic ties with Russia as part of the eight-point plan proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Toshimitsu Motegi became Japanese Foreign Minister in September 2019 following Cabinet reshuffle. That was his second meeting with Lavrov.

Japan holds the G20 presidency in 2019. The G20 summit was held on June 28-29 in Osaka, and the Foreign Ministers’ meeting is being held in Nagoya on November 22-23. The ministers are expected to discuss a number of issues related to global trade and the development of the African continent at the meeting.

Russia and Japan have been in talks to sign a peace treaty since the mid-20th century. The main stumbling block to achieving this is the status of the southern Kuril Islands. After the end of World War II, the Kuril Islands were incorporated into the Soviet Union. However, the status of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan Islands and the Habomai Islands is being challenged by Japan. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated on numerous occasions that Russia’s sovereignty over the islands is beyond any doubt. In 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan signed a joint declaration on ending the state of war, but no peace treaty has been signed to date.