Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia and Japan have a chance to settle the territorial dispute if they do not rely on miracles but work in a friendly way, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Thursday.
"It seems to me the main thing here is, on the one hand, not to wait for any miracles, and, on the other, not to slacken contacts, but to work in a friendly way. In this case, we shall have a chance to come to agreement on this problem," Medvedev said in an interview with reporters of the Group of Eight (G8) countries on the eve of the summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
"We should move forward and discuss this topic in compliance with the declarations which were made earlier. We should not try to reach maximum results in a short period of time, because most likely it is impossible. But we must discuss openly the ideas that already exist and ideas that are forming now," he said.
The president is satisfied with how Russia-Japan relations are developing, saying Japan "is a very big partner both in international affairs and in the economic sphere."
In his opinion, Russia and Japan share common positions on a considerable number of issues, such as anti-terrorism, anti-drugs and climate change. "This gives us a chance to move forward," Medvedev said, adding that the settlement of the border dispute will further improve economic and cultural relations between the two countries.
Territorial disputes between Russia and Japan over four islands in the Pacific Ocean have long dampened bilateral ties, and blocked them from entering a peace treaty after World War II.
The four islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, were occupied by Soviet troops after the end of World War II and are currently under Russian control.
Russia has agreed to give up two of them, but Japan insists on taking back all of them.
Source: Xinhua
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