Abe Urges Putin not to Hesitate and Sign Peace Treaty

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to step up efforts to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute between their countries and sign a postwar peace treaty, calling it their “historical duty.” “The new relationship of cooperation between Japan and Russia is becoming more apparent thanks to our work,” Abe said in a speech at a regional economic forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, September, 5. The Japanese prime minister urged Putin to “do everything together” so that Tokyo and Moscow move forward towards this goal, RIA Novosti reports. Russia and Japan have not yet signed a peace treaty following the results of World War II. The reason is Tokyo’s claim to the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a number of territories of the Lesser Kuril ridge, which the USSR left after the war. Izvestia