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Japan, Russia fail in territorial dispute; agree on Putin visit
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-31 22:49

The foreign ministers of Japan and Russia failed Tuesday to make any headway in resolving the countries' 60-year-old territorial dispute, but agreed to forge ahead with plans for a visit to Japan this year by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On the first day of a two-day visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Japanese counterpart Nobutaka Machimura for talks on a dispute over Russian-held islands north of Japan that are claimed by Tokyo.

Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (R) delivers a joint statement with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the foreign ministry's Iikura guest house in Tokyo May 31, 2005. Lavrov is in Tokyo on a two-day visit to discuss with Japanese officials a decades-old territorial row and the timing of a visit to Japan by President Vladimir Putin. [Reuters]

In a joint news conference, the two reported no progress on the conflict, which has blocked a formal peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow since the end of World War II.

``This is not an easy issue to find a quick, specific solution to, but we will continue our dialogue,'' Machimura told reporters after the talks.

Lavrov also said the dispute was too complex to resolve in one set of talks.

``It is true we haven't found a solution to the issues of peace treaty and territories,'' he said. ``Our stances remain unchanged _ it takes time because these are complicated issues.''

Although the two countries have had diplomatic ties since 1956, territorial disputes over four Russian-held islands have prevented them from signing a formal peace treaty and forging closer ties.

Located just north of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the islands are within the fertile fishing waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Japan calls them the Northern Territories, while Russia calls the Southern Kurils. Japan has insisted on the return of all four islands, which were taken by Moscow in the closing days of World War II.

Hopes were high, however, for a visit by Putin to Japan by the end of the year.

``My understanding is that we will soon agree on a specific date,'' Machimura said.

The two were also working on a communique, to be released during the planned summit, pledging the two nations to work together in technology, investment and other areas.

Later Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that his predecessor, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, would travel to St. Petersburg in June to meet Putin.

``I believe they will discuss how (the two countries) can cooperate in a variety of areas,'' Koizumi told reporters.

The island dispute has escalated in recent months. Late last year, Putin reaffirmed Russia's adherence to a 1956 declaration in which the former Soviet Union had said it was ready to return to Japan two of the four islands.

However, Putin said the declaration made the transfer conditional on a peace treaty confirming both nations' renounced territorial claims, and he sharply criticized Japan's calls for the return of all four islands.

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