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Vladimir Putin and Yoshiro Mori first negotiated tete-a-tete for 90 minutes. The Russian President informed Mr Mori about the March 24 terrorist acts in southern Russia, with the Japanese Prime Minister expressing his condolences to Mr Putin.

After the talks, both leaders were joined by their respective national delegations.

Opening the expanded talks, Vladimir Putin said Russia and Japan had made remarkable headway in key spheres of bilateral partnership last year. The Russian leader said both sides must reaffirm their mutual striving to continue drafting the Russian-Japanese peace treaty. President Putin noted the need for providing timely information on the issue to the Russian and Japanese public.

After their negotiations, Vladimir Putin and Yoshiro Mori signed the Irkutsk statement on subsequent peace-treaty talks. The statement notes the consent of both sides to more quickly finalise the relevant bilateral agreements and to conclude the treaty by deciding on the jurisdiction of the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai.

The Irkutsk statement said Russian-Japanese talks would be based on seven previous agreements, including the 1956 joint declaration, the 1973 and 1991 joint statements, the 1993 and 1998 Moscow and Tokyo declarations, the statement by the Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister on the issue of the 2000 peace treaty and the March 25, 2001 Irkutsk statement.

The parties reaffirmed the fact that the 1956 Joint Soviet-Japanese Declaration remained the basic legal document.

The summit also focused on economic cooperation, including that in the field of energy, state-of-the-art technologies and fishing.

Russian and Japanese leaders discussed key international issues and said they wanted to cooperate actively on the international scene, namely, within the framework of the G8, the UN and multilateral institutions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vladimir Putin and Yoshiro Mori were interviewed by journalists after the talks.

The Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister then met with members of the Japanese Diet (Parliament) accompanying Mr Mori to Irkutsk. Members of the Japanese Diet advocated expanded bilateral relations.