Russia, Japan Sign Statement on Peace Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori signed on Sunday a statement on the issue of a Russia-Japan peace treaty in the city of Irkutsk.

In the statement, a main outcome of Mori's two-day visit to the Siberian resort, the two leaders agreed to continue talks on concluding a peace treaty concerning their territorial dispute over the South Kuriles (Four Northern Islands) on the basis of all past-reached bilateral documents, so as to fully normalize bilateral relations.

They cited the 1956 joint declaration, signed by the former Soviet Union and Japan, as the basic legal document, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The declaration initiated the process of talks on wrapping up a peace treaty after the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In it, Russia expressed its willingness to return the two islands of Habomai and Shikotan out of the four to Japan when they ink a peace treaty, which has not been achieved since the end of World War II in 1945.

The two leaders pledged to find a mutually acceptable way to end their disputes over the sovereignty of the islands and work out concrete policies for forging a peace treaty.

"Yoshiro Mori and I confirmed firmness and the impressive role for developing the top-level dialogue between our two countries," Putin said at a joint news conference after they met.

To achieve success at these talks, it is necessary to maintain an atmosphere of trust and cooperation in Russian-Japanese relations as a whole, he said.

In Putin's words, Irkutsk witnessed a constructive dialogue, which is important not only for Russia and Japan but also for the general situation in the world. He urged to continue the dialogue on a regular basis.

Mori, who arrived in Irkutsk on Saturday for the first Japan-Russia summit in 2001, also said that Sunday's talks were a positive step forward to establishing a partnership between the two countries.








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