Japan decision on S Kuriles not paves good way for RF-Japan su

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7/7 Tass 274

MOSCOW, July 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The recent decision of the Japanese
parliament on the Southern Kuriles does not pave a good way for a
Russian-Japanese summit, Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich told
reporters on Tuesday.
He recalled that the countries reached an agreement on a meeting
between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Taro Aso long ago and
the leaders of the countries will meet during a G8 summit in Italy. The
leaders of the countries "will discuss bilateral issues and global
economic and political issues," Dvorkovich said. Meanwhile, he noted, "The
recent Japanese decisions (regarding Japan's claims on four islands of the
Kuril chain) do not pave a good way for a forthcoming summit."
The Japanese parliament has recently approved several amendments in
the 1982 law on special measures contributing to a solution of the problem
of the northern territories (Japan's term for the islands). Under these
amendments Japan considers the Southern Kuriles actually belonging to
Russia as "an integral part of Japan."
Japan claims for four southern Kurile Islands - Iturup, Kunashir,
Shikotan and Habomai, referring to the 1855 bilateral Treaty of Commerce,
Navigation and Delimitation (the Shimoda Treaty), under which the border
between the countries was established between the islands of Urup and
Iturup, and the currently disputed islands were recognized as Japanese
territories.
Russia sticks to the position that four disputed southern Kurile
islands were annexed by the Soviet Union after the Second World War.
Russia became a legal successor of the Soviet Union and has sovereignty
over the islands with the relevant international legal basis that cannot
be put into question. However, Tokyo linked a solution to the territorial
dispute with the signing a peace treaty between the countries.
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