VLADIVOSTOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday has delivered a keynote speech at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) and replied to questions about the most topical items on Russia's recent agenda, including the protests in Moscow, exchange of prisoners with Ukraine, and the pending post-World War II peace treaty with Japan.
The plenary session was also attended by the leaders of Japan, India, Malaysia and Mongolia.
INTERNATIONAL AGENDA - JAPAN, UKRAINE, ARMS CONTROL, MIDDLES EAST
The relations with Japan, in general, and the pending post-World War II bilateral peace treaty, in particular, was a topic discussed through the length and breadth on the sidelines of the EEF-2019 before it got covered by Putin at the plenary session.
"No matter how difficult it is ... we will be moving toward ... concluding the peace treaty on the basis of the 1956 declaration," Putin said.
Under the 1956 declaration, Moscow and Tokyo agreed to restore bilateral relations while having no permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II due to conflicting territorial claims over the Kuril Islands � referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan. Moscow has recently showed some interest in giving to Japan two out of four disputed islands � Habomai and Shikotan �� in exchange for a peace treaty, but Tokyo maintains its sovereignty claims over all four. Moscow's official position is that the peace agreement cannot be signed until Tokyo recognizes the WWII results.
In the meantime, multiple rounds of bilateral negotiations resulted in a certain positive progress, including the agreement to arrange visits for former Japanese residents to the tombs of their relatives in the Kuril Islands, which Putin mentioned at the plenary session.
"I cannot but agree with [Japanese Prime Minister] Shinzo [Abe] that ... everything should be done so that people with ties to these territories did not feel victims of geopolitical events of the past years. As we are guided by humanitarian motives, we do not just consider requests of these people, but we also consider requests of the Japanese prime minister, and this is an exclusive step," Putin said.
The relations between Russia and its closest neighbor, Ukraine, were also given much attention. According to the Russian leader, the normalization of the bilateral relationship in the near future will depend on Kiev. Yet, in a long run, he stressed, the normalization is "inevitable" since Russians and Ukrainians "are two parts of the same people."
A specific issue within the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations was the exchange of prisoners that the two sides have long been negotiating about.
"For reasons of humanism, we are approaching the final stage of negotiations that we are conducting, including with the official [Ukrainian] authorities. So, I think that this will be announced in the near future," Putin said.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian government launched an offensive against its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, known together as Donbas, after they proclaimed independence following what they considered to be a coup in Kiev two months earlier. Ukraine has accused Russia of interfering in its domestic affairs and being involved in Donbas conflict, claims Russia has denied.
The topic of arms control, which has been in a spotlight ever since the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty collapsed, was discussed as well. The Russian leader said that Moscow rightfully foresaw the test of US offensive missile systems in violation of the INF Treaty in August and was forced to adequately respond to it.
"The fact that the Pentagon chief announced that the United States intended to deploy them to Japan and South Korea does not make us happy, it disturbs us and causes some concern," Putin said.
He emphasized that, in line with Moscow's previous statements, Russia would produce weapons missiles similar to the US-made that were previously banned� under the INF, but would not deploy them. He added that he had offered US President Donald Trump to purchase Russia-made advanced hypersonic weapons that Washington yet has not developed.
Another foreign political vector that the Russian president touched upon was the Persian Gulf. The security situation there has drastically worsened over the past several months, chiefly due to the standoff between Iran and the United States. A series of attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman and Hormuz Strait has worsened the tensions.
In August, the United States called upon Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Korea and the United Kingdom, among others, to join a coalition that would send patrol ships to the strategic pathways of the Gulf to ensure safe maritime passage through them.
Putin said that Russia has no problems with protection of its vessels in the Strait of Hormuz thanks to the advanced military equipment and forces.
"Taking into account the development of our armed forces and the Navy, we do not have any problems with that. The most important issue here is the effectiveness of these actions in the settlement of tensions and strengthening the security in the region and the Strait of Hormuz in particular," he said.
The Russian leader also outlined his views on multipolarity, saying that the era of unrivaled Western leadership on the world stage is coming to an end and that an effective international organization cannot be imagined without India and China.
DOMESTIC AGENDA - PROTESTS IN MOSCOW, RUSSIAN FAR EAST
Commenting on recent protests in Moscow, Putin said that while any public collective action can potentially have a positive effect on the governance quality, it nevertheless must be in accordance with the established law.
"When people express their point of view, including during the protests � as I have already said, I think that they have the right to it � sometimes this leads to a positive result, because it shakes up the government, arrays it the right direction so that it can more effectively solve the problems it faces. But [protesters] should act in a positive manner, guided not by their narrowly self-interested, group interests, but by the interests of all the country and people, and act within the framework of the established rules and laws," Putin said.
When asked whether the sentences given to participants of recent authorized rallies were too heavy, the Russian president noted that that all protesters should be treated equally under the law.
"I believe ... that all these people are mainly positive-minded, and want to ensure that the country develops and contribute to its development. It is only important to ensure that all these [protests] stay within the framework of the current law," the president added.
Development achievements, the Russian president said, must first of all be felt by people, For example, the Far East, where the EEF-2019 is taking place, has undergone an economic breakthrough over the past years.
"The power and competitive advantages of the Far East come from the talented, hardworking, energetic people, educated and ambitious youth. From the new science centers and the industrial growth, from the richest reserves of natural resources, great logistic opportunities, the Northern Sea Route and other trans-Eurasian routes," Putin emphasized.
He also stressed that the region is neighbored by fast-growing economies and by the most dynamic region in the world, the Asia-Pacific.
"It is natural that defining the long-term development strategy of the Far East in the mid-2000s, 15 years ago, we made a bet on the openness of this region, on its close integration into the economic, transport, educational, humanitarian fields of the Asia-Pacific region, if you look more broadly, then, of course, of the entire world," Putin added.
Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok is hosting the fifth edition of the EEF from September 4-6. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the event.
