Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe took some time out from haggling over Pacific islands to take in a theatre performance and meet a very frisky puppy.

The Russian President showed his Japanese counterpart a good time in Moscow on Saturday after they attended an economic forum the day before.

Mr Abe and his wife Akie Abe sat beside President Putin on the centre balcony of the Bolshoi Theatre to watch the show.

Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe took some time out from haggling over Pacific islands to take in a theatre performance

Mr Abe and his wife Akie Abe sat beside President Putin on the centre balcony of the Bolshoi Theatre to watch the show

They got on stage to open the cross-cultural year of Russia and Japan, which featured an impressive display by men dressed as fully-armoured Japanese samurais.

Earlier they helped present a Japanese Akita dog to Russia's 16-year-old Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova.

The Pyeongchang Olympics gold medalist proclaimed her love for Akitas after spotting them while training in Japan and locals vowed to find her one.

The head of the Akita preservation society, Takashi Endo, gifted her a three-month-old puppy called Masaru in the ceremony in a central Moscow hotel.

They got on stage to open the cross-cultural year of Russia and Japan, which featured an impressive display by men dressed as fully-armoured Japanese samurais

Earlier they helped present a Japanese Akita dog to Russia's 16-year-old Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova (second from left)

The Pyeongchang Olympics gold medalist proclaimed her love for Akitas after spotting them while training in Japan and locals vowed to find her one

Mr Abe and his wife held and patted the dog, whose name means 'win' or 'victory', before giving her to Alina who earlier begged her parents for one if she won gold.

President Putin and Mr Abe pledged to finally put to bed the decades-old territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands lying between the two countries.

Arguments over who owns the four islands has prevented Russia and Japan from formally signing a peace treaty even 70 years after World War II ended.

The Soviet Union took the islands in the closing days of the war and they have poisoned relations ever since.

Japan is seeking to implement joint business projects on the Kuril Islands as a way to gain momentum to resolve the dispute.

'The Japanese and the Russians will be able to reap the fruits of the joint work on the islands. If we cooperate, we can achieve great results that bring mutual benefit,' Mr Abe said.

Mr Abe and his wife held and patted the dog, whose name means 'win' or 'victory', before giving her to Alina who earlier begged her parents for one if she won gold

In recent years, foreign ownership of Japan's most famous indigenous breeds has skyrocketed, with celebrities like Hollywood actor Richard Gere and French film star Alain Delon owning the breed

The head of the Akita preservation society, Takashi Endo (left), gifted her a three-month-old puppy called Masaru in the ceremony in a central Moscow hotel

Mr Abe's late father Shintaro took the lead in negotiations with Moscow as a foreign minister but died in 1991 after pushing for talks while suffering from cancer.

'Solving (the dispute) is not easy but we would like to end it within the lifetime of our generation,' he said.

He added Tokyo was 'thankful' to Moscow for allowing Japanese citizens to visit the graves of relatives on the islands.

Earlier, Abe said he hoped for a 'new breakthrough' in settling the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands and that he was 'ready to reinforce cooperation in a calm but energetic manner.'

President Putin said at a press conference after the talks that Russia would 'assist' in allowing Japanese citizens to visit the Kuril islands.

'We believe it is important to patiently continue the search for a solution that would satisfy the interests of Russia and Japan and that would be accepted by the nations of both countries,' he said.

President Putin and Mr Abe pledged to finally put to bed the decades-old territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands lying between the two countries

Arguments over who owns the four islands has prevented Russia and Japan from formally signing a peace treaty even 70 years after World War II ended

Japan has been careful to avoid criticising Russia, particularly its role in Syria that has drawn condemnation by Western countries, as it seeks to resolve the territorial dispute.

Putin said after the meeting that a Japanese business delegation would visit the islands this year.

The two leaders also discussed the North Korea crisis with Mr Putin calling for 'restraint in order not to allow a new spike in confrontation and to keep the situation in the political and diplomatic field'.

Russia has retained close ties with its Soviet ally North Korea, while Pyongyang has test fired ballistic missiles over Japan.

'The most important (thing) is for North Korea to carry out full and irreversible denuclearisation,' Mr Abe said for his part.

Mr Abe's late father Shintaro took the lead in negotiations with Moscow as a foreign minister but died in 1991 after pushing for talks while suffering from cancer

Mr Abe (left) earlier attended the 2018 Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum

Russia has retained close ties with its Soviet ally North Korea, while Pyongyang has test fired ballistic missiles over Japan.

Japan and Russia were both members of six-party talks on regulating the North Korea crisis, which also involved China, the US and both Koreas.

The talks were designed to offer the North security and economic benefits in exchange for denuclearisation but broke down in 2009 when Pyongyang abandoned them.

President Putin and Mr Abe pledged to 'reinforce cooperation' at a time of tension with the West.

'I am very pleased to have the opportunity to talk in detail on our bilateral relations and political cooperation,' Putin said as he greeted Abe in the Kremlin.

The two leaders already met this week on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum where Abe was present as a guest of honour.