Shinzo Abe Vows To Resolve Russia-Japan Peace Treaty, Will Visit Russia in May

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Shinzo Abe Vows To Resolve Russia-Japan Peace Treaty, Will Visit Russia in May

Feb. 7, 2018 (EIRNS)—According to the Russian news agency TASS, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his commitment to completing a peace treaty with Russia, ending World War II between them.

“The situation when Russia and Japan have had no peace treaty for 72 years since the war was over is abnormal. Me and President [Vladimir] Putin will put an end to this problem that persists during the entire post-war period,”

he said at a nationwide rally for the return of southern Kuril Islands which became part of the Soviet Union in 1945; Japan refers to them as the Northern Territories.

“If the situation allows, I will visit Russia in May, and during the top-level talks I’m going to raise the peace treaty issue,” he said.

Kenji Kanasugi, Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau who represents the country at the talks on the Korean Peninsula, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov had discussions on Korea in Tokyo. According to a statement by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the two sides welcomed the dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang aimed at making the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games successful.

On Feb. 6, the two diplomats took part in the third round of consultations on bilateral relations and the peace treaty. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the talks focused on issues related to the joint economic activities on the southern Kuril Islands.