Russia says no peace dialogue ongoing with Japan over territorial dispute

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Friday that relations with Japan had been reduced to zero over Tokyo’s “unfriendly” stance towards Russia, and there was no ongoing dialogue towards peace.

Russia and Japan never signed a formal World War II peace treaty, with the main obstacle being an unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

In her inaugural address to parliament on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said: “Although Japan-Russia relations are in a tough spot, the Japanese government’s position remains unchanged, aiming to resolve the territorial issue and conclude a peace treaty,” according to Russia’s TASS state news agency.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said Russia’s relations with Japan “have been reduced to zero” over what he cast as Tokyo’s “unfriendly stance” towards Moscow.

“There is no dialogue, and it is impossible to discuss the issue of a peace treaty without dialogue,” he told reporters at a daily briefing. “Russia has never been in favour of ending this dialogue.”

“…Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that any agreements can be reached without changing the modalities of our relations,” he added.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Gleb Bryanski)