ID :
149741
Sat, 11/13/2010 - 13:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/149741
The shortlink copeid
Kan-Medvedev talks set for Sat. afternoon to discuss isle row+
TOKYO, Nov. 12 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will hold talks Saturday afternoon on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Yokohama, with Tokyo eager to mend ties with Moscow
strained over the president's visit to a disputed island, government sources said Friday.
The bilateral talks were set at the last minute after Medvedev shocked Japan on
Nov. 1 by becoming the first leader from Russia or the Soviet Union to set foot
on one of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which are claimed by Japan.
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov also Saturday afternoon to lay the groundwork for the meeting between
Kan and Medvedev, the sources said.
Earlier in the day, Kan told reporters in Seoul that he hopes to convey to
Medvedev Japan's basic position on the territorial scuffle if the summit talks
materialize. ''I will say what I need to say,'' he said.
The two countries' officials arranging the summit talks may have felt their
blood freeze Friday as Japan and Russia forwent a planned signing of a
memorandum in Tokyo to affirm their continued economic cooperation.
Japanese trade minister Akihiro Ohata said at a parliamentary committee session
the territorial issue was an ''extremely serious'' problem and the president's
visit to Kunashiri Island was like ''stomping over'' the feelings of the
Japanese people.
Maehara and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku were quick to allay
suspicions that the signing of the memorandum at an investment forum of the two
countries was postponed due to Medvedev's visit to the island, saying it was
forgone because of a scheduling conflict.
Japan is seeking the return of the islands -- Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and
the Habomai islet group -- seized by Soviet troops between Aug. 28 and Sept. 5,
1945, following Japan's Aug. 15 surrender in World War II.
The islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern
Kurils in Russia. The territorial row has prevented the two countries from
concluding a postwar peace treaty.
==Kyodo
2010-11-12 23:51:56
strained over the president's visit to a disputed island, government sources said Friday.
The bilateral talks were set at the last minute after Medvedev shocked Japan on
Nov. 1 by becoming the first leader from Russia or the Soviet Union to set foot
on one of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which are claimed by Japan.
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov also Saturday afternoon to lay the groundwork for the meeting between
Kan and Medvedev, the sources said.
Earlier in the day, Kan told reporters in Seoul that he hopes to convey to
Medvedev Japan's basic position on the territorial scuffle if the summit talks
materialize. ''I will say what I need to say,'' he said.
The two countries' officials arranging the summit talks may have felt their
blood freeze Friday as Japan and Russia forwent a planned signing of a
memorandum in Tokyo to affirm their continued economic cooperation.
Japanese trade minister Akihiro Ohata said at a parliamentary committee session
the territorial issue was an ''extremely serious'' problem and the president's
visit to Kunashiri Island was like ''stomping over'' the feelings of the
Japanese people.
Maehara and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku were quick to allay
suspicions that the signing of the memorandum at an investment forum of the two
countries was postponed due to Medvedev's visit to the island, saying it was
forgone because of a scheduling conflict.
Japan is seeking the return of the islands -- Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and
the Habomai islet group -- seized by Soviet troops between Aug. 28 and Sept. 5,
1945, following Japan's Aug. 15 surrender in World War II.
The islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern
Kurils in Russia. The territorial row has prevented the two countries from
concluding a postwar peace treaty.
==Kyodo
2010-11-12 23:51:56
