Russia Welcomes Japan's Peace Push Amid Decades-Long Island Dispute

"We welcome this statement. We are also in favour of concluding a peace treaty with Japan," Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

The remarks came after Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that Tokyo is determined to conclude a peace treaty with Moscow despite the difficult bilateral relations.

"Relations between Japan and Russia are in a difficult situation, but the Japanese government's policy is to resolve the issue of the 'northern territories' and conclude a peace treaty," she said in her keynote speech to parliament during her inauguration.

Peskov noted that the "unfriendly actions" of Japan's previous governments have deteriorated bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Tokyo.

"Unfortunately, Japan is currently taking a very unfriendly stance toward Russia, joining all the illegal sanctions and restrictions imposed on our country. As a result of the position taken by previous Japanese governments in recent years, bilateral dialogue has been brought to virtually zero," Peskov emphasised.

Reports suggest that in her policy speech to parliament, Takaichi made no mention of Tokyo's willingness to continue supporting Ukraine and maintaining sanctions against Russia.

Moscow and Tokyo have been engaged in talks since the mid-20th century to conclude a peace treaty.

The main obstacle remains the dispute over the southern part of the Kuril Islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan. After World War II, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the then Soviet Union, but Japan disputes the ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and a group of small uninhabited islets.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly asserted that Russia's sovereignty over these territories is indisputable, with an established international legal basis.

However, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the Northern Territories are an inherent territory of Japan that continues to be illegally occupied by Russia.

Earlier, relations worsened when Japan imposed multiple packages of sanctions against Moscow after the launch of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry then announced that it does not want to continue consultations on the peace treaty, citing the impossibility of negotiating such a fundamental document with a state that adopts an unfriendly stance and allegedly seeks to undermine Russia's interests.

- IANS