Abe Told about Crucial Moment in Peace Treaty Negotiations with Russia

There is a crucial moment in peace treaty negotiations between Moscow and Tokyo said Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. “The crucial moment has come [in the negotiations]. We will definitely put the last point with our hands [President Putin and Prime Minister Abe]” – TASS quotes Abe as saying. Moscow and Tokyo have not yet signed a peace treaty following the Second World War because of a dispute over the ownership of the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and the Lesser Kuril Chain, which were incorporated into the USSR after the war. Japan continues to consider them as its “northern territories”. On November 14, during a bilateral meeting of the leaders of the two countries in the framework of the Russia-ASEAN summit, Abe promised to resolve a territorial dispute with the Russian Federation on the basis of confidence built with Putin. At the same time, both politicians agreed to return to discussing the peace treaty on the basis of the provisions of the 1956 Declaration, according to which Moscow, concluding a peace treaty, is ready as a gesture of goodwill after to hand over to Japan Shikotan Island, as well as a number of small uninhabited islands of the Lesser Kuril Chain. Source: iz.ru