State Duma Deputy Minister Dmitry Novikov said that the discussion of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan on ownership of the Kuril Islands is just a way to once again stir up a series of issues at the federal level. He shared his opinion in a chat with Lenta.ru.
Previously, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan intended to resolve the issue of territorial ownership of the Kuril Islands and sign a peace treaty with the Russian Federation. The politician admitted that the current relationship between Tokyo and Moscow is very difficult, but some issues between the two countries remain unresolved.
The Deputy Minister pointed out that if the Prime Minister wanted to say that Tokyo was ripe to acknowledge the reality that emerged as a result of World War II, then such a decision could be welcomed and a peace treaty could be signed. If talking about unresolved issues, we mean the desire to demonstrate that these islands or parts of them will be included in the political map of Japan, Novikov emphasized, then this is unacceptable for Russia.
“In this case, talking about a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is just a way, with a good reason, to once again stir up a series of problems at the federal level. In this case, we are not talking about a desire to solve the problem, but about an attempt to reconsider the reality that emerged after the defeat of militarist Japan, which was an ally of Hitler's Germany,” the congressman said.
Japan decided to sign a peace treaty with Russia
In 2024, the Japanese government called the Southern Kuril Islands “illegally occupied by Russia”. The report of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the biggest concern in bilateral relations is the “Northern territory issue”.
