(FOX): Russia and Japan agreed Friday to hold talks on joint economic development on four islands at the center of a territorial dispute between the countries. It was a small step forward that fell far short of breaking the stalemate in the long-running dispute that has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II.
Joint economic development “would help foster trust toward a peace treaty,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after meetings in Japan over two days. The territorial dispute centers on four southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took the islands in the closing days of World War II, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands.
“If we just insist on each other’s justice, we can never resolve the problem,” he said. “We must make an effort to open a new future in Japan-Russia relations for the new generation.” Putin said he did not know how the island dispute could be resolved, but he said the islands should be seen not as a point of contention point but “a place that brings Japan and Russia together.”
Achieving joint economic development is far from a given, because of the dispute over sovereignty. Russia says that any development should be governed by Russian laws, while Japan is pushing for a special framework that in Abe’s words would not “infringe the sovereignty positions of either side.”
Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, and Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time. “Russia and Japan haven’t had very much economic cooperation,” Putin said earlier Friday. “It is necessary to expand the potential of our economic ties.”