Kremlin: Russia and Japan intend to continue work to conclude peace treaty
Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, said during a broadcast of Russia 1 TV channel that the negotiations between Moscow and Tokyo on the peace treaty will continue, RIA Novosti reports.
Peskov stressed that neither side has refused to continue negotiations to reach a consensus. He explained that each side has their own “limits” and nuances in their approaches. “But, strategically, Abe and Putin confirmed their intention to work on the conclusion of a peace treaty,” he said.
At the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin recalled that Russia and Japan have been trying to reach a peace treaty for 70 years. Putin proposed to conclude a peace treaty by the end of the year without preconditions, and then resolve all contentious issues “as friends” based on the treaty. Yoshihide Suga, the chief secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, said that Tokyo has not changed its position on this issue, and the peace treaty is possible only after the resolution of the territorial disputes. Later, the Japanese NHK TV channel reported that Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a private meeting in Vladivostok.
Earlier, it became known that Abe informed Putin about the position of Japan concerning the necessity to resolve the territorial dispute in the first place. According to the Japanese prime minister, the Russian president assured that he “would definitely solve the problem” of the Kuril Islands.