TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from Japan and Russia agreed Friday on scheduling their leaders’ meetings this year, starting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia, to deepen relations overshadowed by a World War II territorial dispute and the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip came days after Japan hosted foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Russia is barred from G-7 because of its annexation of Crimea in 2014. That has also shelved Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Japan visit for nearly two years.

Still, Abe has been pushing to make progress in the dispute over Russian-held islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the southern Kurils in Russia, which has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities.

The two ministers said Abe will unofficially visit Russia “soon,” but declined to give details. They also agreed to hold high-level talks on a possibility of starting negotiations toward signing a peace treaty.

Lavrov said that Russia was open to continue dialogue with Japan on the territorial issues, but that Moscow’s position remained unchanged. “The Russian position is that (the ownership) is based on the results of World War II,” he said.

Media reports say Abe would travel to Sochi in southern Russia on May 6 to meet with Putin, ahead of Putin’s return visit

Japan is in a delicate position.

As part of the G-7, it supports the group’s diplomatic isolation of Russia. At the same time, Tokyo wants good relations with Moscow to maintain dialogue and negotiate the territorial dispute.

The two sides have stepped up economic and diplomatic cooperation despite Russia’s support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.

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