Putin's Peace Treaty Proposal To Japan Perceived By Tokyo As Signal For Actions - Diplomat

Putin's Peace Treaty Proposal to Japan Perceived by Tokyo as Signal for Actions - Diplomat

He proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign a permanent peace treaty with Japan without any preconditions was regarded by Tokyo as a signal that time had come to stop delaying the peace talks and start acting instead, Japanese political expert and retired diplomat Kazuhiko Togo, who was responsible for the European affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.

TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2018) The proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign a permanent peace treaty with Japan without any preconditions was regarded by Tokyo as a signal that time had come to stop delaying the peace talks and start acting instead, Japanese political expert and retired diplomat Kazuhiko Togo, who was responsible for the European affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.

In September, Putin proposed at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum to sign a peace treaty between Russia and Japan until the end of the year. Tokyo responded that it would keep maintaining its position that the peace treaty with Russia could be concluded only after the settlement of the Kuril islands dispute.

"The Japanese side has been too slow. Two years have passed since the leaders' [Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe] meeting in [the Japanese prefecture of] Yamaguchi! The signal that should be taken very seriously is the call to 'stop procrastinating!' I think that the Japanese authorities and the Foreign Ministry should understand it exactly like this, as a call for actions ... On Putin's part, it was a suggestion that the sides should seriously get down to the peace treaty talks. And it was understood [by Tokyo] as a serious call for negotiations," the expert said.

Togo also believes that Putin did not suggest signing the treaty without settling the islands dispute first, and it looks more like a message to Abe to stop delaying the talks.

"Putin's words should be interpreted in context. I do not think that he seriously suggested signing a peace treaty without discussing the issue of the [Southern Kuril] islands. And if we look at it in the context, his words should be interpreted as follows: 'You are constantly repeating that we have to sign the peace treaty. If we continue to go round in circles, nothing will come out of it. Do you really want to sign the treaty? You have three years ahead of you. The decision has to be made without delay,'" the expert said.

Togo added that the two sides had to launch the negotiation process as soon as 2019 because if Moscow and Tokyo do reach the peace accord, it will still take time for the treaty to be passed by the Japanese parliament and it is better to do it before Abe's term comes to an end in 2021.

"Abe leaves in September, 2021. It will take the [Japanese] parliament a year to ratify the agreement, it is better to do it with Abe [as prime minister], so we have time until August 2020. So around a year is left for the most difficult talks. If we need to sign the treaty by August 2020, [the talks] have to be launched very soon, in 2019 ... The Japanese Foreign Ministry should think about it day and night," Togo said.

The diplomat expressed an opinion that the signing of the deal is possible while both Abe and Putin are in office.

"Abe wants to sign the peace treaty. Another question is whether he will be able to? He will. If Putin is his vis-a-vis, he will be able to. The conclusion of the peace treaty in the current international climate is beneficial both for Russia and Japan. And if we let this chance slip, there will not be another one like this," Togo said.

The diplomat also believes that the talks on the peace treaty could include the discussions on five areas of joint economic activities on the islands that were set by Abe and Putin during their talks in 2016.

The islands dispute has been souring bilateral relations for decades and serves as the main stumbling rock to signing a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II. Both countries claim a group of four islands � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai � referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

In 1956, the two sides signed a Joint Declaration that provided for the restoration of bilateral relations after the war and stipulated that Japan and the Soviet Union would continue to make efforts toward signing a permanent peace treaty and toward settling the island dispute. The Soviet Union also pledged to consider handing over the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. Some progress was made when Putin visited Japan in December 2016, and Moscow and Tokyo agreed to work on joint projects on the islands in the fields of seafood cultivation, tourism, agriculture, energy and hard waste disposal and facilitate movement between the Kurils and Japan.