Japaneese tourists visit an Ortodox church in Yuzhno-Kurilsk on an exchange program.
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No Doubt about Kuriles
The Southern Kurile Islands have been a part of Russia since the end of World War II. Russian sovereignty over them is in accordance with international law and there can be no doubt about that,” official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Nesterenko stated. He noted that Japan has been using the upcoming G8 summit in Hokkaido to draw additional international attention to the Russian-Japanese territorial dispute. Some publications are giving the problem a tendentious interpretation, which is a circumstance that Japanese diplomats have objected to in the past.
“Since our communications have not had the necessary effect,” the Russian diplomat said, “now, unfortunately, the issue has to be addressed publicly.” But, Nesterenko added, “We are ready to continue a patient and calm search for a solution that should be mutually acceptable to the peoples of Russia and Japan.”
The dispute has been going on for 60 years. The islands were seized by Soviet forces in the last days of the war in 1945. The dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty, so they are still formally at war. Tokyo has demanded the return of all the Northern Territories, as the Japanese call the islands. Russia has proposed using the joint declaration of 1956 as the basis of an agreement. It proposes that Moscow return two of the four islands in questions, after the signing of a peace treaty.
www.kommersant.com
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