Russian President
Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is ready to resume talks with Japan over a decades-long territorial dispute between the two countries under the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration.
Putin told reporters after the annual Q&A session with the Russian people that Tokyo is responsible for the talks having stalled.
After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, the Soviet Union seized three islands and a group of small islets off Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. The dispute over their sovereignty has prevented the two countries from ever concluding a peace treaty.
Putin also said Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year will have no effect on Russia’s diplomacy toward Japan, including talks over finally concluding a peace treaty and seeking to resolve the 70-year-old territorial dispute.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea, part of Ukraine, prompted Japan and other countries to impose economic sanctions on the country.
Putin’s comments come after Tokyo and Moscow agreed on Putin’s visit to Japan by the end of this year.
The disputed islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
[Kyodo]
16/4/15
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Putin told reporters after the annual Q&A session with the Russian people that Tokyo is responsible for the talks having stalled.
After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, the Soviet Union seized three islands and a group of small islets off Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. The dispute over their sovereignty has prevented the two countries from ever concluding a peace treaty.
Putin also said Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year will have no effect on Russia’s diplomacy toward Japan, including talks over finally concluding a peace treaty and seeking to resolve the 70-year-old territorial dispute.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea, part of Ukraine, prompted Japan and other countries to impose economic sanctions on the country.
Putin’s comments come after Tokyo and Moscow agreed on Putin’s visit to Japan by the end of this year.
The disputed islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
[Kyodo]
16/4/15
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow has not changed its stance on the Kuril Islands, but is ready to continue dialogue with Japan on the issue...
ReplyDelete"Our approach to the peace treaty with Japan and the territorial issue has not changed following Crimea reunification," Putin told reporters after his annual live Q&A session.
"We are ready for a dialogue with Japan on this issue, but only in line with documents adopted in 1956 on the basis of the outcome of the Second World War, which have been ratified by the Japanese parliament."
He added that Kurils residents were unlikely to vote for reunification with Japan following the Crimea precedent, as the dispute over the islands originated from the results of the Second World War and has nothing to do with the present situation..........http://sptnkne.ws/dPW
16/4/15
Japan rejects Putin's claim Tokyo to blame for stalled islet talks...
ReplyDeleteJapan rejected today (April 17) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that it is responsible for stalling bilateral talks on a decades-long territorial dispute, and called for speeding up negotiations.
“There’s absolutely no fact that supports the claim the Japanese side has stopped the negotiations for concluding a (bilateral) post-war peace treaty,” Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, one day after Putin made the remark.....KYODO NEWS.....todayonline.com
17/4/15
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that he ordered the government to draft a 10-year development plan of the Kuril Islands, which Japan refers to as the Northern Territories...
ReplyDelete"We are studying the federal projects...on Kuril Islands for 2016-2025. This is a unique place...first of all because of its geographical natural resources with a colossal economic potential, " Medvedev said at a government meeting.
He noted that "the financing for the 10-year program amounts to roughly 70 billion rubles (over 1.22 billion U.S. dollars), including around 28 billion rubles (491 million dollars) from the federal budget."
Medvedev said that Russia has been actively restoring both civilian and military infrastructure on the four disputed islets, according to an official transcript published on the internet.
"The (Kuril) Islands have played and will be playing a role of our frontier defenders," Medvedev said, adding that the regional government must fully support the Russian armed forces deployed there.
Meanwhile, the development project should improve the living conditions and attract more residents, while strengthening transport connectivity of the islands with Russian mainland is one of the most important missions, according to Medvedev.
The prime minister also said he planned to visit Kuril Islands to check the real situation there, and called on other Russian government officials to follow his steps.............http://www.ellanodikhs.net/2015/07/russia-plans-to-develop-disputed-kuril.html
24/7/15