Putin Aide Separates Territorial Issue from Economic Cooperation

St. Petersburg, Russia, May 17 (Jiji Press)--A foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Japan's economic cooperation to Russia and progress in the two countries' longstanding territorial dispute are totally unrelated, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. Meanwhile, Yuri Ushakov said that Putin is expected to visit Japan within this year, according to Interfax. At a meeting with Putin in Sochi, Russia, on May 6, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presented to Russia an eight-point cooperation plan, mainly on economic aid, apparently hoping that it will help advance territorial talks between the two countries. Ushakov's remarks are believed to be intended to warn against excessive hopes in Japan for progress in the territorial issue over four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands, located off Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. At the same time, however, the Putin adviser apparently signaled Russia's readiness for negotiations with Japan by referring to Putin's possible Japan visit. Ushakov may have tried to urge Japan to adopt an approach on Russia that is different from those of Western countries, thereby driving a wedge into the Group of Seven major industrial nations ahead of their summit in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on May 26-27. The islands in question were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan in the closing days of World War II and have long been claimed by Japan. The territorial spat has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities. END