Issues of sovereignty, islands transfer not discussed during talks with Japan - envoy

TOKYO, February 5. /TASS/. Issues related to sovereignty and handover of the southern Kuril Islands are not discussed and cannot be discussed during negotiations with Japan, Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin told TASS on Tuesday. "I can say that, of course, the issues of sovereignty over the islands and [their] handover are not discussed and cannot be discussed during the talks. We assume that the southern Kuril Islands are part of Russia according to the results of World War II, and these results are enshrined in international law," the ambassador stressed. He was also confident that it was essential for Russia and Japan to focus on creating "a new, genuinely positive atmosphere in bilateral relations." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to intensify talks on a peace treaty at a meeting in Singapore last November. In December, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the two leaders announced establishing a new peace treaty negotiations format. The two countries’ top diplomats were tasked with overseeing its work. For decades, Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace treaty after World War II. The main stumbling block is the status of the southern part of the Kuril Islands. After World War II, the whole archipelago became part of the Soviet Union. However, Tokyo disputes Russian claims over Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan Islands as well as a number of smaller uninhabited islands called the Habomai Islands in Japan. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that Russia's sovereignty over those islands is enshrined in international legal documents and cannot be questioned. Read more