Russia wants to boost bilateral ties with Japan on all fronts and hopes to reach a peace treaty with its eastern neighbor, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday, adding however that agreeing a peace treaty needed «scrupulous work.»
Ushakov was briefing reporters before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan later this week.
A territorial dispute between Tokyo and Moscow over a chain of western Pacific islands, seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War Two, has upset diplomatic relations ever since, precluding a formal peace treaty between the two countries.
«The president has already said that our country is not only ready but interested in resolving this long-running problem. … But we believe this is quite a long process, which requires scrupulous work aimed at boosting trust,» Ushakov said.