Russian Foreign Ministry: Restart of Russia-Japan Dialogue Only After Japan Abandons Anti-Russian Policy
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that the path to restarting Russia-Japan dialogue can only begin after Japan actively abandons its anti-Russian policies aimed at harming Russia and its citizens.
Zakharova said at a press conference: "The path to restarting Russia-Japan dialogue can only begin after Japan actively abandons its anti-Russian policies aimed at harming Russia and its citizens. Japan must abandon this policy."
She believes that this unfriendly policy has led to a deadlock in bilateral cooperation, but it is Japan's side, not Russia's.
She also sarcastically responded to Japanese journalists who did not ask questions about Japan or its new prime minister, Asahi Kishida. When answering a question from Reuters, she said: "I dare to speculate that the Japanese leadership or the Japanese government has imposed a ban on Japanese journalists, perhaps you are working for them, then let them share your salary with you."
Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty since the end of World War II. Japan claims the four islands of the Southern Kurils - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai - based on the 1855 bilateral trade boundary treaty between Russia and Japan, and makes the return of these four islands a condition for signing a peace treaty with Russia. Moscow's position is that the Southern Kurils were incorporated into the Soviet territory according to the results of World War II, and Russia has an undoubted sovereignty over them.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847432054116364/
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