This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russia said it was withdrawing from negotiations with Japan aimed at signing a formal World War II peace treaty because of Tokyo’s tough stance against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The Russian side, in the current conditions, does not intend to continue talks with Japan on the peace treaty,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 21.
Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty to formally end World War II.
One of the key issues is competing claims over territorial rights to the Kurile Islands, which Tokyo calls its Northern Territories. Soviet troops seized them from Japan at the end of the war, and Russia still occupies the island group.
Following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the authorities in Tokyo voiced strong condemnation and have joined with Western partners in placing sanctions on Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it broke off talks “due to the impossibility of discussing the core document on bilateral relations with a country that has taken an openly hostile position and is striving to cause harm to the interests of our country.”
The statement also said Russia was ending a visa-free regime for Japanese people to visit the disputed islands. Many Japanese had traveled to the visit the graves of their ancestors.
