FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Singapore, November 14, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday it expected talks to be difficult when Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week to discuss a deal that could end a decades-old territorial row.

Abe is making a push to end a dispute over islands captured by Soviet troops in the last days of World War Two that has prevented the countries signing a peace treaty since the war.

Abe is due to meet Putin on Jan. 22 in Moscow.

There are still differences between Moscow and Japan’s positions, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday.