(VOVworld) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on May 6. The territorial dispute between the two countries is expected to top the agenda.

Putin and Abe meet in Sochi, February 2014 (Source: www.globalresearch)

Speaking in front of foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin, Putin said he hopes Prime Minister Abe’s visit will facilitate the widening of Russian-Japanese ties for mutual benefits. He said that holding dialogue with Japan was one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities.

Last week Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is ready to continue talks with Tokyo. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the two countries agreed to start negotiations on a peace treaty as soon as possible following Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe’s visit to Russia.