Japan today protested “strongly” about Russia’s decision to withdraw from negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries over what Moscow said was Tokyo’s “unfriendly stance” on the Ukraine war.
“This situation is indeed the result of Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament.
“Russia’s attempt to shift this question to relations between Japan and Russia is extremely unjustified and completely unacceptable,” he added.
“Japan is protesting strongly,” he said, condemning once again Russia’s actions in Ukraine, which are “forcibly and unilaterally changing the status quo.”
Tokyo followed the example of other Western countries and imposed severe economic sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Japan and Russia have had complicated relations for decades. The two countries have not signed a peace treaty since World War II due to differences over four small islands in the Kuril archipelago.
Russia abruptly announced Monday that it was withdrawing from negotiations on a peace treaty with Japan, saying it was “impossible to negotiate (…) with a country that has an openly unfriendly relationship (with it) and the which seeks to undermine Moscow’s interests.
Russia has added that the visa waiver for Japanese wishing to visit the disputed islands is no longer valid and that it is withdrawing from talks on joint economic activity between the two countries.
The disputed islands, located between the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, are called the “Southern Kurils” in Russia and the “Northern Territories” in Japan. They were occupied by the Soviet army in 1945 and have not been returned to Japan since.
Tokyo considers these islands, which have a total population of 20,000 people, “an integral part of Japan.”
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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