Territorial row in focus as Abe meets Putin

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday with the aim of jump-starting stalled negotiations over a long-standing territorial dispute between their countries.The meeting in Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East, is the 27th between the leaders, with Abe looking to leverage the relationship he has built with Putin to break the deadlock.The disagreement over the sovereignty of four Russian-held islands lying off Hokkaido in northern Japan remains a major hurdle to Tokyo and Moscow signing a formal peace treaty 74 years after the end of World War II.A…READ FULL ARTICLE