‘Our country's territories are not subject to alienation. The issue is closed.’ Medvedev

Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has characterized the decision to withdraw from negotiations with Japan regarding a peace treaty over the Kuril Islands as historically justified, long overdue, and fair. He made this statement on his Telegram channel.

According to him, Moscow and Tokyo are unlikely to reach an agreement on this issue. “Both we and they understood this before. Thus, negotiations around the Kurils have always been of a ritual nature. The new version of the Constitution of Russia clearly states that our country’s territories are not subject to alienation. The issue is closed,” the politician wrote.

Medvedev recalled Japan’s decision to impose sanctions against Russia, following the example of the United States. He noted that in this way, the Japanese authorities demonstrated “with whom they will agree on the hypothetical text of the peace treaty,” thus rendering the negotiations meaningless.

The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation emphasized that it is now much more important to focus on the development of the Kuril Islands.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced the withdrawal from negotiations with Japan regarding a peace treaty over the Kuril Islands the day before. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described Russia’s decision as “unacceptably harsh.”

Russia and Japan have been unable to sign a peace treaty for many years due to territorial disputes resulting from World War II over the Kuril Islands. The Japanese side claims ownership of Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir islands, and the Habomai islands group, while Moscow considers these territories to be its own and does not even acknowledge the very fact of a territorial dispute.

In 1956, the USSR and Japan signed a joint declaration suggesting that the USSR would transfer Habomai and Shikotan to Tokyo after the signing of a peace treaty.