Kyodo World Service, October 23rd, 2007
(EDS: RECASTING THROUGHOUT WITH KOMURA, LAVROV NEWS CONFERENCE)
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and his Russian
counterpart Sergei Lavrov agreed Tuesday to continue efforts to seek
a mutually acceptable settlement to a long-standing territorial
dispute to pave the way for the conclusion of a postwar peace treaty
but gave little indication of concrete progress in their talks in
Tokyo.
In a joint news conference after the meeting, Komura said the
two sides agreed to ''do their utmost'' toward resolving the dispute
and Lavrov said they ''reaffirmed the need to continue working on
settling the peace treaty issue and both sides have the desire for a
resolution.''
Komura announced that a visit to Japan by Russian Deputy Prime
Minister Sergei Naryshkin had been set for Nov. 5 and vice foreign
ministerial talks for Dec. 6 in Moscow.
The foreign ministers also agreed to speed up negotiations for
an agreement on atomic energy cooperation and to prepare for
simplified visa issuance procedures but stopped short of citing any
specific diplomatic progress.
Asked about the prospects for settling the dispute over the
Russian-held islands, which has prevented the two nations from
concluding a peace treaty, Komura said, ''Foreign Minister Lavrov
said he does not intend to seal the problem in a can. I too think it
is important for us to move forward with this issue and to lead it to
a resolution.''
Japan and Russia remain bitterly at odds over the sovereignty of
the Kunashiri, Etorofu and Shikotan islands and the Habomai islet
group, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as
the Southern Kurils. The Soviet Union occupied the islands shortly
after the end of World War II.
Japan is demanding the return of all four islands. Russia,
meanwhile, citing the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, is seeking
to resolve the issue by handing over two of the four islands after
the conclusion of a peace treaty.
Although both sides have already agreed to seek a mutually
acceptable solution to the row, it remains uncertain how and when any
compromise will be reached.
''It is important that the solution be one that can be accepted
by the publics and parliaments of both sides,'' Lavrov said. ''This
means both sides must respect each other, have a willingness to make
concessions and work together. We (Russia) are ready for the work.''
At the news conference, Lavrov underscored his belief that
promoting economic and trade flows as well as grassroots exchanges
will help to create the atmosphere for resolving pending issues and
to ''push the Russia-Japan relations to a new stage.''
In response to a question from Russian media, Komura reassured
Moscow that Japan's joint development of a missile defense system
with the United States was purely to defend Japan and is in line with
the country's ''exclusively defense-oriented policy.''
''And if I may add one thing, Japan has no intention whatsoever
of implementing the system with the presumption of an attack from
Russia,'' Komura said, adding that Japan's strategic dialogue with
the United States and Australia is ''not aimed at creating a
trilateral military alliance.''
Lavrov, who met Komura for the first time since the latter
assumed his post last month, voiced Russia's concern about the
ongoing Japan-U.S. project in a recent interview with Kyodo News
prior to his visit.
Political observers said they believe Tokyo's aim in Tuesday's
talks was to create an atmosphere to push forward negotiations on the
territorial dispute with the new Russian administration, which is
expected to take over from President Vladimir Putin next May.
Tuesday's tal
