TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono plans to hold negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the next week on Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to conclude a bilateral peace treaty by the end of the year without any preconditions, local media reported on Thursday.
The proposal was voiced by Putin during the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which took place in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok earlier in September. Tokyo, in its turn, maintained that it would sign the peace deal only after the long-time territorial dispute between the two countries is settled.
Kono planned to meet with Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, which kicked off in New York on Tuesday, the NHK broadcaster reported.
At the EEF, Putin noted that the islands, disputed by Moscow and Tokyo, were small in comparison to the whole Russian territory, and said that the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan was not fundamental. However, these political and moral disagreements were a very sensitive issue for both countries, Putin added, noting the need to create the comfortable environment for the settlement of these issues.
During his meeting with Lavrov, the Japanese foreign minister would seek to determine what was behind Putin's remarks regarding the four islands disputed by Moscow and Tokyo, the broadcaster noted.
Moreover, Kono reportedly plans to confirm that Russia and Japan would boost their arrangements for joint economic activities on the disputed islands.
Kono also expressed hope that his planned meeting with Lavrov would help Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reach an agreement at a summit in the near future, according to the broadcaster.
The fact that Japan and Russia have never signed a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II has long been a stumbling block in Russia-Japan relations. The main issue standing in the way of a treaty is an agreement concerning a group of four islands that both countries claim � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.
Tokyo and Moscow have been engaged in consultations on carrying out joint economic activities on the disputed islands.
