Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a new era in ties hampered by a territorial dispute dating back to WWII.

"Let's put an end to this abnormal situation, which has lasted 70 years and together start to build a new epoch in Russia-Japan ties that will last the next 70 years," Abe told Putin during a speech translated into Russian as the pair met for talks in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.