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Post by Admin on Dec 14, 2016 18:29:16 GMT
Tensions between Moscow and Tokyo over the disputed Kuril Islands come from the Japanese side, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Japanese interviewers. He added that the example of China shows that such disputes can be resolved.
“We believe that we have no territorial problems whatsoever. It is Japan who believes it has territorial disputes with Russia. We are ready to discuss this,” Putin said, referring to Japan’s claim over four islands in the Kuril Archipelago, an issue that remains a big stumbling block in the relations between the two countries.
“We are natural partners in the world and the Asia-Pacific, but the absence of a peace treaty deprives us of an opportunity to develop our relations in a multifaceted way,” the Russian leader told Kasuya Takayuki, CEO of Nippon Television Holding, and Takeshi Mizoguchi, editor-in-chief of Yomiuri newspaper. He added that the state of ceasefire between the two countries is an “anachronism” that “must be eliminated.”
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Post by Admin on Dec 16, 2016 19:02:29 GMT
 Vladimir Putin and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe have worked out a statement on the prospects of joint Russian-Japanese economic activities in the South Kuril Islands as the Russian leader arrived in Japan for what’s seen as a breakthrough visit.  The two leaders dedicated 40 minutes from their three-hour talks in Abe’s ancestral hometown of Nagato, a mountainside resort in southwest Japan, on Thursday. The time was spent to develop an agreement on joint activities on the Kuril Islands “that would be suitable to both parties,” Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, told reporters.  Putin and Abe had to discuss the issue one-on-one after Russian and Japanese experts failed to agree on the wording of the statement, he added. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 17, 2016 18:40:14 GMT
While according to the 2013 version of the doctrine, Russia was set to continue dialogue on the ways of resolving unsettled questions in a mutually beneficial fashion, any wording on the “unsettled questions” was absent from the 2016 document. Instead, language on ensuring security and stability in the Asia-Pacific was added. Furthermore, during an interview with Japanese journalists in the lead up to his Japanese trip, Putin said that it was Tokyo, not Moscow that had an issue with territory.  The interpretation of this change may be ambivalent but also helpful in making sense of the Putin-Abe summit. Prima facie, one may just stop short of deducing a certain toughening of Russia’s position on the territorial dispute, viewing the change in tone and rhetoric as partially reminiscent of the Soviet position prior to Mikhail Gorbachev. For instance, the Japanese and international media noted the three-hour delay of Putin’s arrival to Yamaguchi Prefecture, hinting at it as a signal of toughness. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida laughed off the interpretations of a delay as a diplomatic ruse. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2016 18:33:03 GMT
Much has been said in the media about the likelihood of a “thaw” in Russo-American relations after the election of Donald Trump as the new U.S. President. Recent events, such as the nomination of supposedly Russia-friendly Rex Tillerson to the office of Secretary of State, kept validating that expectation, although before any actual policy is defined after the inauguration, all such forward-looking statements are speculative. The same goes for former French PM Francois Fillon’s win at the primaries for the 2017 presidential election. Still, all-in-all these trends indicate a possible sea-change in Russia’s strained ties with Western countries and, in turn, the fading of Japan’s opportunity – and related bargaining power – to benefit from this context.  Moreover, the mood may be slightly changing inside Japan as well. According to a November poll by the Mainichi newspaper, 57 percent of respondents support a flexible resolution of the territorial issue rather than intransigently demanding a transfer of all the disputed islands, favored by a “blocking-stake” minority of 25 percent. On the contrary, the public opinion in Russia has been viewed by a number of Japanese media outlets as staunchly opposed to territorial concessions, particularly sensitive as the country enters a preparatory period for the 2018 presidential campaign. Whether as part of a bargaining preparation or not, the Japanese authorities officially did not rule out the possibility of applying the scope of the U.S.-Japan alliance to the Kuril Islands, which certainly did not dispel Moscow’s insecurities over a possible U.S. military base in the event of island handover. |
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Post by Admin on Jul 13, 2017 18:23:22 GMT
 The Kuril Islands have been at the center of a territorial dispute since 1947 — a major barrier to a permanent peace treaty to formally end World War II and improve relations between Japan and Russia. The countries are inching closer to cooperation on the archipelago, but other issues have stymied substantial progress. Following a five-day trip to the Southern Kurils in June by a 70-member Japanese delegation, the first since 1998, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the delegation's talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on July 7. The two leaders agreed to have Japanese and Russian deputy foreign ministers meet in August to finalize joint economic projects in the Southern Kurils that may include salmon fishing, hospitality, medical care, transportation and hybrid wind-diesel power plants. Abe will then head a Japanese delegation to the third annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 6-7.  The 2016 Eastern Economic Forum ushered in a landmark December visit to Japan by Putin, with high hopes for a major breakthrough — particularly on the part of the Japanese. Expectations for this year's negotiations are more subdued. While Putin and Abe's meeting at the G-20 was their fourth in the last year, they have little to show for it. Although political will for a deal is high on both sides, bigger issues have stood in the way. Japan hopes to reduce remaining friction with Russia so it can focus more on a rising China. And considering Abe's current political difficulties, a win on the Kurils would be particularly welcome. A key step in resolving the dispute would be for Japan to lift sanctions on Russia, which it has been unwilling to do because of U.S. pressure to maintain them. Russia is also pursuing Japanese investment into its flagging economy but has adopted an increasingly hardline stance. |
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