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Abe willing to talk WWII peace treaty with Putin
SINGAPORE, Nov 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said
he was willing to discuss a peace treaty with Russia — two countries still
technically at war with each other — during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday.
The two leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the regional
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore.
Both countries are seeking to try to end a thorny territorial row that has
dogged relations since the end of World War II.
The dispute between Russia and Japan centres on four islands in the
strategically-located Kuril chain which the Soviet Union occupied at the end
of the war in 1945 but are claimed by Japan.
It has kept the two countries from signing a peace accord that would
formally end their wartime hostilities.
“We hope to discuss not only bilateral cooperation, including our
economies… but also the issue of the peace treaty,” Abe told Putin,
according to a Russian translation of his words at the start of the meeting.
“I am ready to give enough time to this, the peace treaty,” he added.
Putin first suggested the two countries sign a peace treaty “without any
preconditions” in September.
The proposal was initially received coolly in Japan, where a government
spokesman said the two countries should first resolve the dispute before
signing a peace deal.
But in recent months, diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue appear to
have accelerated, at least to the point where Japan is willing to discuss
what a treaty might look like.
In his response to Abe on Wednesday Putin said: “I am delighted to be able
to discuss with you all the angles of our cooperation, including those that
you personally consider to be priorities.”
Historically, Japan insists the islands, which were once inhabited by the
Ainu indigenous people, have never belonged to anyone else.
Russia considers them spoils of war as agreed between then US president
Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1945.
Strategically, control of the islands gives Russia year-round access to the
Pacific Ocean for its Pacific fleet of warships and submarines based in
Vladivostok, as the surrounding water does not freeze in winter.
BSS/AFP/FI/1920 hrs