"Northern territories" not subject for dialogue between FMs of Russia and Japan - Lavrov

MOSCOW, September 21 /TASS/. The problem of "northern territories" is not a subject for dialogue at negotiations between the foreign ministers of Russia and Japan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Monday. "As for the Russian delegation, we did not discuss the ‘northern territories’. Neither the northern territories of Japan nor the northern territories of Russia are the subject of our dialogue. The conclusion of a peace treaty is the only item on the agenda," the Russian foreign minister stressed. "The Russian approaches rest on all the agreements, which have been reached until recently, and they remain unchanged. For example, we reminded the Japanese side that progress on the issue was possible only after we got clarity on whether Japan recognized the postwar historical realities, including the United Nations charter in full measure," Lavrov went on to say. "It is the historical aspect of the problem inherited from WWII that was the most serious obstacle to reaching a settlement. Dialogue should continue because without bringing clarity to historical realities on the WWII outcome, we will be unable to make any progress. Today, we confirmed the absolute commitment of the Russian leadership to finding a solution, which would suit both sides and which would be accepted by the people in Japan and Russia," Lavrov stressed adding, however, that today’s atmosphere was not the best for concluding the peace treaty. Read more