The Secretary-General of the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan, Yoshihide Suga said that Tokyo has maintained his position at the conclusion of a peace Treaty with Russia, which implies the resolution of territorial disputes. This publication reports the Sankei.
“The government is not changing its policy in relation to the issue of the return of the [Northern] Islands and conclude a peace Treaty” — so Suga responded to the invitation of President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace agreement before the end of the year, without preconditions.
Suga added that he is confident that Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could discuss the proposal on the sidelines of the Eastern economic forum.
Earlier Vladimir Putin, answering questions at a plenary session of the Eastern economic forum, stated that it agreed with the proposal of the Japanese Prime Minister to change the approach to the consideration of the question of concluding a peace Treaty. Putin invited Abe to sign a contract until the end of the year without any preconditions. According to Putin, the solution of controversial questions it will be easier to work in the status of friends.
Shinzo Abe still has not commented on Putin’s words, but even during his speech at the WEF in Davos, he urged the Russian President to reaffirm the resolve to conclude a peace Treaty.
In 1956 between the USSR and Japan signed a Declaration on ending the war, the document also meant the conclusion of a peace Treaty in the short term. However, since any significant progress in this direction was not done. So, Japan offered their own amendments on joint activities on the Kuril Islands, but the Russian foreign Ministry did not accept them.