Lavrov briefs Putin on results of his talks with Japanese foreign minister - Kremlin aide

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has briefed President Vladimir Putin on results of his talks with the Japanese foreign minister on a peace treaty in the run-up to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia on January 22, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday. "Our minister has briefed the president on the outcome of the talks," he said. The Kremlin official pointed out that "the key condition in a search for solutions to the peace treaty might and must be overwhelming recognition of the outcome of World War Two by the Japanese, including our country’s sovereignty of the Southern Kuril Islands." Ushakov recalled that Russia and Japan had scheduled Shinzo Abe’s working visit to Moscow for January 22. The summit meeting will consist of two rounds of talks, namely a one-on-one meeting and an expanded meeting, followed by a news conference. Ushakov added that prior to the visit, the Russian and Japanese foreign ministers had held talks on January 14 while deputy foreign ministers held their separate meetings. Putin’s aide clarified that a peace treaty issue would top the agenda of the talks. Speaking about a process of the treaty conclusion, Ushakov pointed out that it "should embrace determination to raise bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level, should embrace determination to create an atmosphere of genuine trust and partnership and what is more, should deepen mutual understanding between our countries and our peoples." Nonetheless, he admitted that Moscow and Tokyo still have some disagreements, but "the two countries’ leaders reaffirm their willingness and determination to normalize relations in full, and therefore, a peace treaty must be concluded." According to the Kremlin aide, Moscow believes that a solution to the peace treaty "should be unequivocally supported and unequivocally welcomed by the two nations." "It is a very demanding task. We expect challenging talks," Ushakov said. Speaking about Japan’s recognition of World War Two results, Ushakov emphasized that "all of the Southern Kuril islands were handed over to the Soviet Union and, respectively, to the Russian Federation." "It is our land and no-one will be handing that land to whosoever," he concluded. Peace treaty talks On November 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed at the Singapore summit to accelerate the Russian-Japanese peace treaty talks on the basis of the 1956 joint declaration. On October 19, 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan signed that declaration on ceasing the state of war and restoring diplomatic and consular relations, but no peace treaty has been signed since then. Russia and Japan have been in talks to sign a peace treaty since the mid-20th century. The main stumbling block to achieving this is the ownership issue over the Southern Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan. After the end of World War II, the Kuril Islands were incorporated into the Soviet Union. However, the ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan Islands and the Habomai Islands has been challenged by Japan. Read more