Russia raps Japan's appeal to court in fishing row

MOSCOW, July 9 (Reuters) Moscow said today it was ready to discuss ways of freeing two Japanese boats which it says were seized while poaching in Russian waters, and expressed regret Tokyo had decided to take the matter to court.

''The Russian side has invariably expressed its readiness to discuss the fate of the Japanese trespasser boats and their crews,'' Russia said in a statement, referring to two fishing vessels caught east of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the two Japanese vessels, held off the Russian port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, had been seized ''in the Russian exclusive economic zone''.

''This being said, the Japanese side does not contest the charges of violating rules of fishing,'' it added.

On Friday, Japan appealed to the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, urging the release of its fishing vessels which remain under arrest in Russia.

The Tribunal considered freeing the ships on bail, Russia said, a widespread practice that it had used itself.

''However, it is regretful that Japan prefers litigation at a time the Russian side is open to solve the problem bilaterally,'' the country's statement said.

Japan wants the release of the Hoshin Maru No 88 vessel and 17 members of its crew seized last month. It also seeks the release of the Tomi Maru No 53 detained last October, whose crew has already been freed.

The boats were seized on suspicion of poaching at the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has said the Hoshin Maru's crew are in good health.

Fishing disputes between the neighbouring nations break out mainly near a group of islands that are the subject of a 50-year-old territorial tug-of-war between Moscow and Tokyo.

A Japanese fisherman was killed in a clash with a Russian patrol boat last August. Moscow said it regretted the death but blamed the Japanese side for the incident.

REUTERS SBC BST2243