Japan confirms its foreign minister’s visit to Russia

TOKYO, September 19. /TASS/. Japan’s Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed that the working visit of its head Fumio Kishida to Russia will start September 20. The ministry said Kishida is to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during the visit. It added that Kishida plans to touch upon the issue of "solution to the problem of the Northern Territories" [the way Japan calls Russia’s Southern Kuril Islands]. The problem of the southern Kuril Islands is the key obstacle to a complete normalization of the Russian-Japanese ties and the signing of a peace treaty. After the Second World War, all Kuril Islands were made part of the Soviet Union. But Japan does not agree that the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai island group belong to Russia. Tokyo calls the islands "Northern Territories". On Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida will focus on promotion of the negotiation process aimed at conclusion of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. "Japanese Foreign Minister [Fumio] Kishida's working visit to Russia will take place on September 20 to 22," the Russian Foreign Ministry said." His talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled for the visit as well as [Kishida’s] participation in the ninth session of the Russian-Japanese intergovernmental commission on trade and economy." "During the upcoming meeting, the ministers will exchange views on the whole range of bilateral agenda and also will focus on topical international issues of mutual interest," the ministry said in a commentary. "Issues related to the negotiation process aimed at conclusion of the peace treaty are due to be on the table. The Russian side clearly accentuates that the promotion in this aspect cannot be possible if Japan fails to recognise the post-war historic realities." Also, Lavrov and Kishida will discuss bilateral cooperation aimed at ensuring global and regional security. "Along with bilateral dialogue formats, including a mechanism of Russian-Japanese consultations between Security Councils, which have been in effect since March 2014, the Russian-Japanese project, which was held under the auspices of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, on training Afghan drug police at the Russian Interior Ministry’s Domodedovo Staff Training Institute has been successfully implemented," the commentary said. "The ministers are expected to exchange views on steps for tightening cooperation in this sphere." In late August, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the Southern Kurils. This provoked a sharp reaction in Tokyo - the local media reported that Fumio Kishida’s visit to Moscow "has been postponed" due to this. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida summoned Russia’s Ambassador to Japan Yevgeny Afanasyev. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said trips of the Russian government to the Kuril Islands would continue despite Tokyo’s position. The problem of the Southern Kuril Islands is the key obstacle to a complete normalisation of the Russian-Japanese ties and the signing of a peace treaty. After the Second World War, all Kuril Islands were made part of the Soviet Union. But Japan does not agree that the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai island group belong to Russia. Tokyo refers to the islands as its Northern Territories. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 27 that there had been no official information on the timeframe of the Japanese foreign minister’s visit to Russia. "We have seen reports by the Japanese media suggesting that the visit of Japan’s foreign minister has been allegedly cancelled," the diplomat said. "We have not seen Japanese Foreign Ministry’s official statements on this matter, only the media interpretations with reference to some sources," she added. Zakharova said that the sides had not agreed at the moment "on the date and format of the visit." "You cannot cancel what has not been agreed," she said. Read more