RF hopes to settle territorial raw with Japan with stronger trust

MOSCOW, July 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia believes the search for settling
the territorial problem with Japan should be based on stronger trust and mutual understanding.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement Friday over the
fact that the Japanese Education Ministry published a study guide for the
social science course in the secondary school that recommends teachers to
explain that the South Kuriles are "the original Japanese territory
illegally occupied by Russia."

"These actions of the Japanese side cannot but evoke just bewilderment
and regret," the Foreign Ministry said. "They do not contribute to the
development of positive cooperation between the countries and to the
solution of the territorial dispute." "Such steps only fan up tension
setting against each other the positions of Russia and Japan, and stress
again that principal disagreements are persisting in the approaches of the
sides to the territorial problem," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
"The Japanese authorities reiterated, including on the top level, that
favourable conditions should be provided for the search of a mutually
acceptable solution to the territorial problem between the countries," the
Russian ministry said. "However, it is obvious that inside the country
Tokyo keeps supporting the contrary approach, cultivating actively the
full territorial claims in the public opinion," the ministry said.
"Moscow believes that the search for settlement of this difficult
problem, which we inherited from the past, should be based on deeper trust
and mutual understanding between the peoples of our countries," the
Russian ministry said. "It is important not to impose on the public,
primarily young people, the confrontation attitude to the neighbouring
country and unilateral approaches to difficult problems of bilateral
relations, which may deadlock the joint search for their settlement," the
Russian Foreign Ministry said.