MOSCOW, May 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanovsaid on Monday that Moscow is ready to build closer ties with Japan despite a dispute over four Pacific islands.

¡¡¡¡"Russia and Japan have entered a new level of cooperation and partnership," Ivanov said in a letter to a Russian-Japanese conference that opened in St. Petersburg on Monday.

¡¡¡¡The main goal of the two countries is "to cooperate more closely in all fields in order to stabilize the situation in Asia and the Pacific," he said.

¡¡¡¡The minister said he hoped the forum would find solutions to cope with hidden threats in the region and work out approaches that will strengthen relations between Russia and Japan.

¡¡¡¡Ivanov's deputy Alexander Losyukov, who read the letter at the conference, acknowledged that the dispute over the four southern most Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, was stalling the development of close ties between Russia and Japan.

¡¡¡¡But he said territorial dispute should not be "overdramatized" and that the development of "broad and active cooperation" should be emphasized.

¡¡¡¡The St. Petersburg conference, organized by Russian and Japanese think tanks and attended by officials from both countries,was to discuss various bilateral and international issues, such as the fight against terrorism and regional cooperation.

¡¡¡¡In a letter to participants, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said that "mutual understanding between our two nations has still not reached a level that satisfies both sides." Enditem