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Japan thought a deal for the Kuril islands was on its way. Russia just delivered a reality check

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Talks appeared to be going well until a series of announcements by Tokyo that angered Moscow, causing it to summon the Japanese ambassador
Russia has slapped down Japanese assertions that a deal was in the offing to resolve a decades-old dispute over a chain of islands, accusing Tokyo of distorting agreements struck with Moscow to break the deadlock.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a push towards a treaty with Russia over the disputed Kuril islands – known in Japan as the Northern Territories – and is set to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin later this month.
In November, an agreement over the island’s future appeared imminent. Indeed, Tokyo’s confidence was reflected in its declaration that residents of the islands, off the northern coast of Japan, should be prepared for a transfer of sovereignty.
That confidence has now been severely shaken by Russia’s foreign ministry, which has accused Japan of “distorting the essence of agreements” between the two countries’ leaders.
Toyohisa Kozuki, the Japanese ambassador to Moscow, was summoned to the foreign ministry on Wednesday for a meeting with Igor Morgulov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister. Kozuki was told Russia deemed Tokyo’s recent statements “an attempt to artificially aggravate the atmosphere” surrounding the question of a peace treaty and the return of the islands that were seized by Soviet forces in the final days of the second world war.
The cause of Moscow’s anger: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s claim that a breakthrough in treaty discussions – to formally end hostilities between the two nations after more than seven decades – would be made in 2019. Russia also claimed Japan acted prematurely by declaring that residents should prepare for the islands’ return to Japanese control.

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