Japan is not able to negotiate on the Kuril Islands - Lavrov
Russia, as a successor to the USSR, is ready to transfer two of the four Kuril Islands to Japan, but only after the Japanese recognize the results of World War II and sign a peace treaty, on which there is no progress yet.
In addition, Japan is not independent in the disposal of its territory and will not be able to interfere with the desire of the United States to place bases on these islands.
This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov during the all-Russian youth forum “Territory of Meanings,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Russia is a successor state of the Soviet Union. All other republics are legal successors, and we, in addition to legal succession, are also a successor state of the Soviet Union, and in this capacity we were recognized in December 1991 and automatically, by virtue of this status, extended our permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
And therefore, we confirmed all the international obligations that the Soviet Union assumed and are ready to fulfill them, including the Declaration of the Governments of Japan and the Soviet Union in 1956, which clearly stated that Russia and Japan are no longer at war with each other , do not consider each other as enemies, but will build relations on the principles of peace and good neighborliness, and Article 9 of this declaration states that: “Based on a friendly attitude towards Japan, taking into account the interests of the Japanese people, the Soviet Union is ready, after the conclusion of a peace treaty , transfer the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan as a gesture of goodwill, precisely after the conclusion of a peace treaty,” the politician said.
“And when, after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, Russia confirmed these obligations, among others, when new contacts began between Moscow and Tokyo, with the prime ministers who changed in Japan, this topic, of course, was discussed, and for the last time, a couple years ago, President Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to intensify negotiations on a peace treaty based on the 1956 declaration, which, as I said, states: “First the signing of the treaty, then consideration of the issue not of return, but of transfer, in the spirit goodwill, these two islands."
At the same time, we proceed from the fact that the signing of a peace treaty should be aimed at establishing the realities that emerged after the Second World War, recognizing the results of the Second World War, according to which the islands of the South Kuril chain, all 4 islands, are the territory of the Russian Federation, as successors of the Soviet Union.
And our Japanese colleagues here cannot change their position in any way, they say that they do not agree with the results of the Second World War as far as they and us are concerned, although this position cannot be accepted, it contradicts the UN Charter,” Lavrov noted .
The minister also drew attention to the fact that Japan is dependent on the United States for security, so Russia needs to understand how independent the “Land of the Rising Sun” will be in the future.
“The second example is security problems. You know that there are American military bases on Japanese territory, a large number of American military personnel, and according to the 1960 treaty between Japan and the United States, the Americans have the right to station their Armed Forces in almost any part of Japan.
By the way, this 1960 treaty was signed after the 1956 declaration was concluded, and thus this treaty created conditions that did not exist at the time that very declaration was signed. I note that it would have been possible to implement that declaration in Soviet times, but it was the United States that prevented Japan from taking this step, not wanting Japan to normalize relations with our country, and constantly seeking to use this issue of the islands to introduce confrontational notes into contacts between us and Tokyo.
Let me emphasize once again, we see this very well; we want good relations with our Japanese neighbor. To do this, we need to understand whether Japan is ready to recognize the results of the Second World War, since it is a member of the UN, and the organization’s Charter clearly states that these results are unshakable. Secondly, we need to understand how independent Japan will be in matters of foreign policy and security issues,” Lavrov emphasized.
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