MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday (Nov 18) that upcoming talks about resolving a dispute with Japan over a group of islands claimed by Tokyo would…
MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday (Nov 18) that upcoming talks about resolving a dispute with Japan over a group of islands claimed by Tokyo would not necessarily result in Moscow relinquishing them.
“Can you say that this means an automatic return of some territories? Certainly not,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian TV in remarks reported by the TASS agency.
The dispute over the Kuril chain goes back to the end of World War II, when their annexation by the Soviet Union was confirmed in peace treaties between the victorious powers and accepted by Japan.
Tokyo claims however that some islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories, were not covered in the agreement and should be handed back.
