Russia hopes Japan will engage in calm discussions on possible conclusion of a long-awaited peace treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, local reports said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has inspected the disputed northern islands off Hokkaido from the air. The islands, which are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, have blocked a peace treaty between the two countries since the end of World War II.

"Russia hopes that Tokyo will overcome this ambiguity, which could only disorient the public opinion, and make a staunch final choice in favor of a calm, non-preconditioned, free from ostentatious public relations campaigns and reciprocal historical references, discussion on the peace treaty," the statement said.

Moscow had once offered Tokyo to sign a friendship and cooperation treaty instead of a full-scale peace treaty but Japan has rejected the initiative.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashiri Island last November, becoming the first Russian leader to travel to any of the disputed islands. Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador from Moscow to protest Medvedev's visit.