Russia FC proposes moratorium on Kurils-Japan visa-free exchanges

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MOSCOW, July 7 (Itar-Tass) - The Federation Council upper house of
Russia's parliament has proposed to the Russian president to introduce a
moratorium on visa-free exchanges between the Southern Kurils and Japan.
This proposal is made in a special statement of the Russian FC members
in connection with the adoption by Japan of amendments to law recognising
the Southern Kurils that belong to Russia, as Japan's "integral part." The
"Law on special measures to promote the settlement of the northern
territories' problems" is in effect in Japan since 1982.
In the view of the Federation Council, these amendments "run counter
to the principle of Russian-Japanese good neighbourliness, mutual respect
and constructive dialogue aimed at the mutually acceptable settlement of
the problem of the peace treaty between Russia and Japan." Despite the
fact that the decision on the ownership of the Kuril Islands was made by
the results of World War II and fixed in the Yalta Agreement and the
Potsdam Declaration, and according to Point "C" of Article 2 of the San
Francisco Treaty of Peace, "Japan renounces all right, title and claim to
the Kuril Islands, and to that portion of Sakhalin and the islands
adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty as a consequence of
the Treaty of Portsmouth of 5 September 1905," the Japanese political
circles have for decades been exaggerating this issue for internal and
foreign political considerations, the FC document states.
The Federation Council regards the amendments adopted by the Japanese
parliament as "an extremely unfriendly gesture insulting for the Russian
people who are always well disposed towards Japan."
In this connection the RF members propose to the Russian president to
consider "measures for the prevention of provocative actions by Japan," as
well as "to consider the issue of the introduction of a moratorium on the
fulfilment of the intergovernmental agreements on mutual visa-free
exchanges between the Southern Kuril Islands and Japan."
The statement was adopted by the FC members unanimously.
The modern Kuril Islands dispute arose in the aftermath of World War
II and results from the ambiguities in and disagreements about the meaning
of the Yalta agreement (February 1945), the Potsdam Declaration (July
1945) and the Treaty of San Francisco (September 1951).
The positions of the two sides have not substantially changed since
the 1956 Joint Declaration, and a permanent peace treaty between Japan and
Russia still has not been concluded.
On July 7, 2005, the European Parliament issued an official statement
recommending the return of the territories in dispute, which Russia
immediately protested.
As late as 2006, Russia's Putin administration offered Japan the
return of Shikotan and the Habomais (about 6% of the disputed area) if
Japan would renounce its claims to the other two islands, referring to the
Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 which promised Shikotan and the
Habomais would be ceded to Japan once a peace treaty was signed.
On February 6, 2008, Japan Today, an English-language news site in
Japan, reported that the Russian president had suggested to Japanese Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda to finally settle all territorial disputes over the
Kuril Islands and had sent him a letter inviting him to come to Russia for
discussions.
The dispute over the Kuril Islands was further exacerbated on July 16,
2008, when the Japanese government published new school textbook
guidelines directing teachers to say that Japan has sovereignty over the
Kuril Islands. The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs protested and
reaffirmed its sovereignty over the islands.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
met in Sakhalin on February 18, 2009 to discuss the Kuril Islands issue.
Aso said after the meeting that they had agreed to speed up efforts to
resolve the dispute so that it would not be left to future generations to
find a solution.
The situation aggravated this summer as both houses of the Japanese
parliament adopted the above amendments. The RF Foreign Ministry denounced
the document. The State Duma lower house of RF parliament proposed to the
country's leadership to make counter claims for further talks with Japan,
in particular, full disavowing of the amendments. The deputies also
expressed readiness to formalise the condition for further talks with
Tokyo on a peace treaty - renouncement of claims for the "northern
territories." The RF leadership was recommended to conduct further talks
with Japan with taking into account of the State Duma position.
Tuesday's proposal of the Federation Council is factually the third
condition, which, according to an idea of the Russian parliamentarians,
should be put forward by the Russian leadership at talks with Japan.
It is also known that the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)
faction in the State Duma is working out a draft law on RF-Japan
relations. Its contents are unknown, but it can be supposed that it could
deal with a certain tough response to Japan. "Russia should give a tough
response to the adoption by the Japanese parliament of the bill in which
the Southern Kurils are called an "integral part" of Japan," LDPR deputy
Sergei Ivanov said commenting on the bill.
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