In Japan, the solution to the "Kuril issue" was linked to Putin
Tokyo and Moscow can resolve a territorial dispute that darkens relations between the two countries as long as the president of the Russian Federation is Vladimir Putin. On June 5, 2021, such a statement was made to the Japanese agency Kyodo by the deputy of the upper house of the Japanese parliament Muneo Suzuki, who is considered an expert on Russia.
The territorial issue can be resolved only as long as Putin holds the post of President of Russia. Having missed this opportunity, we will leave this issue unresolved forever.
- Suzuki believes, linking the solution of the Kuril issue directly with the Russian leader.
At the same time, Kyodo expressed some optimism about the "northern territories", i.e. the group of islands of the South Kuriles, after Putin's talks with representatives of the world's largest media at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Japanese were gladdened by Putin's words that the amendments to the Russian Constitution does not mean the termination of the dialogue between Moscow and Tokyo for the conclusion of a peace treaty.
However, the office of the Prime Minister of Japan told the agency that the government of the Land of the Rising Sun sees no prospects and is skeptical about further negotiations with Russia. At the same time, the journalists recalled that the doors for negotiations on the basis of previous agreements remain open.
Note that Putin, answering a question from the editor-in-chief of the Kyodo agency, Toru Mizutani, spoke not only about the Russian constitution. The President specified that neither the USSR nor the Russian Federation had ever agreed to the transfer of four islands of the South Kuriles to Japan. Moreover, he recalled, the position of official Tokyo on the "Kuril issue" has repeatedly changed.
Information