Russia says Japan ties must improve for treaty

By Staff
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Moscow, Jan 25: Russia's relations with Japan must improve fora peace treaty to be reached that would end their World War Twoterritorial dispute, Russia's first deputy foreign minister said.

Speaking after a meeting in Moscow with senior Japanese ForeignMinistry officials, First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisovyesterday said cautiously that both sides had expressed a wish to workfor a peace treaty.

Diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia have long beenovershadowed by a dispute over four sparsely populated islands, knownin Russia as the Southern Kuriles and to Japan as the NorthernTerritories.

Soviet forces seized the islands in the dying days of World WarTwo, and the land dispute has prevented the two nations from signing apeace treaty.

''In the most general terms, we touched on the problem of a peacetreaty, confirming our mutual interest in finding a way to make one (apeace treaty),'' Denisov said in comments posted on the ForeignMinistry's Web site (www.mid.ru).

He qualified the statement by adding: ''It is our position that amove to a peace treaty is only possible on the basis of acomprehensive, deep development of Russian-Japanese relations.''Relations between Moscow and Tokyo became chilly in August when aRussian patrol boat shot dead a Japanese fisherman for what officialssaid was illegal fishing in Russian waters.

Denisov met Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi in Moscowfor what both powers called ''strategic dialogue'' on a wide range ofissues on Tuesday and yesterday.

''Our general aim is to bring Russian-Japanese relations to a higher level of confidence,'' Denisov said in a statement.

Kyodo news agency reported this month that Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe may visit Russia this year to try to work towards bilateraltalks on a long-standing territorial dispute.

Denisov said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Yachi anddiscussed talks on North Korea's nuclear programme. He said Moscow andTokyo called for the ''swiftest resumption of the negotiating process''


Reuters>

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