Russia expects to continue talks with Japan on concluding a permanent peace treaty in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on Saturday
MUNICH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2019) Russia expects to continue talks with Japan on concluding a permanent peace treaty in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on Saturday.Both Lavrov and Kono are participating in the 55th Munich Security Conference.
"We are holding this meeting in accordance with the agreement of the Russian president and the prime minister of Japan on the need to step up the work on a peace treaty in accordance with the declaration of 1956," Lavrov said, adding that he expected "to continue the ongoing dialogue" with Kono "in strict compliance with the sequencing" defined by the Russian and Japanese leaders.
Russian-Japanese relations have long been complicated by the fact that the two nations never signed a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II. The deal was never reached because of a disagreement over a group of four islands Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai that are claimed by both countries. They are collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.
In 1956, Moscow and Tokyo signed a joint declaration that provided for the restoration of bilateral relations after the end of World War II. The Soviet Union also agreed to consider handing over two out four disputed islands Habomai and Shikotan to Japan.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan in December 2016, the relationship between the two nations have been improving, with the two sides agreeing to develop joint projects on the disputed islands.
Last month, Lavrov and Kono held the first round of talks aimed at eventually signing a permanent peace treaty.
