The Russian leadership welcomes the upcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Putin said, TASS reported.
"Of course, we will be discussing all problems," he said at the annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin".
"In order to solve them, and we have been failing to solve them since the end of WWII, it is necessary to see all the instruments we have created function constantly. I think a compromise can and will be found one day," the Russian leader said.
He said a permanent dialog was needed for a compromise, "but at a certain stage, Japan made the decision to restrict contacts with us". "In my view, this is fully at variance with interests of the Japanese state and the Japanese people," Putin went on.
Read alsoVOA: U.S. Senator says Russia policy needs to be tougher"But at the same time we are also seeing other things: despite pressure from their partners, in particular from the United States, our Japanese friends still seek to maintain these relations," the president said.
