“Substantial differences remain”: the first round of consultations on a peace treaty with Japan took place in Moscow

The first round of Russian-Japanese negotiations on a peace treaty between the countries took place in Moscow. As part of the discussion of this issue, a meeting was held between the heads of the diplomatic departments of the two countries - Sergey Lavrov and Taro Kono. As a result, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke. The Japanese side on the eve of the joint press conference refused.

Moscow stated that at the moment of the beginning of new negotiations the parties still disagree, but the leaders of the two countries are stimulating the continuation of the dialogue.

“We still have significant differences (on the subject of a peace treaty - RT ).” Positions were initially diametrically opposed. We talked about this more than once. But the political will of our leaders to fully normalize relations between Russia and Japan encourages us to intensify this dialogue, ”said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after talks with his Japanese counterpart in Moscow.

The Japanese side stressed that during the negotiations, Moscow and Japan intend to find points of rapprochement, despite the differences.

“We have moments of discrepancy, but in the course of further
consultations, we are obliged to find what we are in ”, Kono Tass quotes.

According to the head of the Russian ministry, Japan’s first step in the negotiations should be the full recognition of the outcome of World War II, including Russia's sovereignty over all the islands of the South Kuril ridge.

Lavrov noted that the “basic position” of Russia concerns Moscow’s sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. “The issue of sovereignty is not being discussed,” said the head of the diplomatic department after a meeting with a Japanese colleague.

Moscow also noted the importance of US actions in Japan, which complicate the dialogue with Russia. Lavrov stressed that negotiations are proceeding on the basis of the declaration of 1956, at the time of the conclusion of which Japan did not have a treaty on military alliance with the United States.

“The agreement was concluded in 1960 and after that our Japanese colleagues abandoned the implementation of the 1956 declaration. Now, when we return to the treaty on the basis of the 1956 declaration, we must bear in mind that the situation with regard to the military alliances of Japan has changed dramatically, ”Lavrov said.

The Foreign Minister added that during the talks, Moscow drew attention to the actions taken by the United States to develop its global missile defense system on Japanese territory. The diplomat described this activity as “actions that are aimed at militarizing this part of the globe.”

“In fact, these are actions that pose risks to the security of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China,” Lavrov concluded.

Russia has fair concerns about a number of locations, including the presence of American military bases in Japan, says HSE professor, political analyst Oleg Matveychev, believes.

“How independent is Japan as a whole, can it guarantee certain things related to American activity in its territory. Since Russia does not see these guarantees, it is difficult for it to incur any obligations, ”said Matveychev in an interview with RT.

According to him, negotiations are a long and difficult process, but the dialogue needs to be conducted. "You can not hurry with the decision, as well as to abandon the dialogue," - said the expert.

US dependency

In turn, the Japanese side assured that in the process of negotiations it will be guided by its national interests.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry called outrageous statements by Katsuyuki Kawai, advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, about US interest in concluding a peace treaty.

"As for the statements of the assistant or adviser to the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, that the US should be interested in concluding a (peaceful. - RT ) agreement between Russia and Japan, so that to strengthen the block on the containment of China, is an outrageous statement, and we said this with all frankness today, ”Lavrov said.

• Kurile Islands
• RIA News
• © Andrey Shapran

As Lavrov noted, the Russian side "asked how independent Japan can be in such conditions with such dependence on the United States."

“We were assured that Japan will make decisions based on its national interests,” said the Russian Foreign Minister.

The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on January 22. This was stated first in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and later this information was confirmed in the Kremlin.

In addition, the next meeting of Lavrov and Kono can take place during the Munich Security Conference in February. This was stated by the head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Tokyo Statements

In recent months, the Japanese side has been systematically publishing statements on the conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia.

One of these statements by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the reason for calling the Japanese ambassador to Russia in the Foreign Ministry. We are talking about the statements of Abe regarding the South Kuril Islands and the achievement of understanding among its inhabitants regarding the "transfer of territorial affiliation."

“Moscow drew attention to the statements made recently by the Japanese leadership on the issue of a peace treaty with Russia, in particular, the need to“ gain an understanding ”of the inhabitants of the southern Kuriles on the issue of the“ transfer of the islands’s territorial belonging to Japan ”, as well as claims of compensation by Russia "in favor of Japan and former Japanese residents for the" post-war occupation of the islands, "said a statement published by the Foreign Ministry.

The ministry noted that such statements "grossly distort the essence of the accords between the leaders of Russia and Japan."

“Such statements can only be interpreted as an attempt to artificially force the atmosphere around the problem of a peace treaty and impose their own scenario of its settlement on the other side,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Earlier, on January 7, Abe said that he intended to do everything possible to complete negotiations with Russia on the conclusion of a peace treaty. On this day, the Japanese politician visited the grave of his father Shintaro Abe, who headed the Japanese Foreign Ministry from 1982 to 1986 and, according to the current Japanese prime minister, also worked to improve Russian-Japanese relations.

"I swore on the grave of my ancestors to make daily efforts and fulfill my duty of duty ... I swore to do everything to move forward (in negotiations with Russia on the Kuril Islands. - RT) and put an end to this issue," the NHK channel quoted Abe as saying.

On January 6, Abe called the coming 2019 “culminating” for a dialogue with Russia.

“Now comes the climax. Together with President Putin, we are negotiating, determined to put an end to them, ”Kyodo says.

Before that, Abe said that the transfer of part of the Kuril Islands to Tokyo was possible only with the consent of local residents, and also stated that the American troops stationed in Japan do not pose a threat to Russia.

In turn, President Vladimir Putin earlier stressed that Russia is concerned about the deployment of the US missile defense system in Japan.

“Of course, we are concerned about the plans to deploy US missile defense systems ... We do not consider this to be a defensive weapon. This is a part of the American strategic nuclear potential that has been taken to the periphery And these systems work synchronously in conjunction with the shock complexes, ”Putin said during a press conference on December 20.

In the negotiations on a peace treaty between Russia and Japan, the difference in views plays an important role, said Pavel Salin, director of the Center for Political Science Studies at the Financial University.

The expert believes that the parties can allocate different timing to solve the problem of the contract. “Apparently, while the temporary regimes of Tokyo and Moscow are different,” the expert states.

In addition, the expert noted the importance of potential damage to the ranking of the leaders of both countries. According to him, the main issue of the negotiations now comes down to what freedom of maneuver Moscow and Tokyo are taking into account all restrictions.