Moscow wants to understand how Tokyo interprets the provisions of the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, which established the basis for peace treaty talks between the two countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2018) Moscow wants to understand how Tokyo interprets the provisions of the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, which established the basis for peace treaty talks between the two countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"It is important to understand how Tokyo today interprets the declaration from the point of view of fully recognizing the outcome of World War II, including the legality of Russia's ownership of the Southern Kurils based on its results," Zakharova said at a briefing.
At the same time, in accordance with the declaration, there are no provisions regarding the specific timing for concluding a peace treaty, the spokeswoman noted.
The main issue standing in the way of a permanent post-WWII peace treaty is a decades-long territorial dispute revolving around a group of four islands � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai � that both countries claim. The islands are collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.
Some progress on the matter was made when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Japan in December 2016. During the trip, both sides agreed to work on joint seafood cultivation, tourism, agricultural, energy, and hard waste disposal projects on the islands, as well as facilitate movement between the Kurils and Japan.
On November 14, the leaders of Russia and Japan met in Singapore and agreed to advance negotiations on a peace treaty based on the 1956 Soviet-Japanese joint declaration, the only document recognized by both countries. The declaration stipulates, among other things, that Japan will regain control over Habomai and Shikotan islets following the conclusion of the peace treaty with Russia. According to media reports, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised Putin that if Habomai and Shikotan were transferred to Japan, US military bases would not be established there.
