Russian minister dismisses Japan's tough territorial claims
29.07.2005, 18.39
ITURUP, Kurile Islands, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has no plans of making territorial concessions to Japan or abandoning the Southern Kurile Islands, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday as he visited the Island of Iturup.
The latter is part of the Southern Kurile Range that also includes the islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai. The Southern Kuriles went over to Soviet jurisdiction in 1945.
Japan has been making claims for them over decades, referring to them as to its “northern territories.”
“We’re not considering any territorial concessions and withdrawals from here,” Ivanov said.
“Yet we’re ready to hold diplomatic talks – we’ve been holding them for the past 50 or 60 years and are ready to continue them in the spirit of correctness and mutual respect,” he said.
“Japan is an important partner for us in trade, science and technology, and we’d like to develop relations with the Japanese,” Ivanov said.
“I hope Japan is interested in developing relations with us, too, but making ultimatums and issuing tough conditions in that area is a totally unpromising method,” he indicated.
“We must live on and create normal beneficial conditions [for each other],” Ivanov said. http://itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2274110
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