The dispute over the islands, now part of the Sakhalin Region, has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty formally ending their WWII hostilities, and has proved a major obstacle to closer bilateral cooperation in areas such as energy.
Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said: Russian diplomats "have repeatedly told the Japanese side that they are ready to resume constructive dialogue to seek mutually acceptable solutions to current problems and issues in bilateral relations."
In the Treaty of San Francisco signed by Japan and the Allied Powers in 1951 which formally ended WWII, Japan renounced its rights to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. However, the four southern Kurils were not specifically mentioned in the treaty, which was not signed by the Soviet Union.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking earlier in the day at an annual conference on regaining the "Northern Territories" (Japan's name for the southern Kurils), reiterated Tokyo's intention to resume dialogue with Moscow on the dispute.
The prime minister made it clear in his speech that Japan will continue to press Russia to return the four disputed islands.
The Russian diplomat said: "We are aware of the Japanese prime minister's statements. We have repeatedly outlined our position, which remains unchanged. We proceed from the principle of the inviolability of World War Two's results."
Last year, Russia offered to return to Japan the Shikotan and Khabomai islands, with a combined area of just 276 sq km, or 6% of the disputed territory, on the condition that Tokyo renounce its claims to the two larger islands, Iturup and Kunashir, whose combined area totals 4629 sq km.
