By PNA / Kyodo and U.S. News Agency / Asian

Japan and Russia made arrangements Friday in a vice ministerial-level meeting for a planned summit in December, with Tokyo hoping to rejuvenate negotiations over a long-running territorial dispute.

The meeting in Tokyo was effectively the first working-level talks since Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in June to reactivate the long-dormant negotiations over the sovereignty of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which are claimed by Japan.

In the meeting, Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, who is in charge of Asian affairs, were likely to begin work on an agreement that would be concluded at the December summit, according to Japanese officials.