MOSCOW: Russia is not holding territorial talks with Japan as islands claimed by Tokyo belong to Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said July 16. 

Peace treaty talks between the two countries have nothing to do with border demarcation, Zakharova said in an online briefing.

She made the comments while being asked about the impact on talks with Japan of Russia’s amended Constitution, which allows border demarcation work with neighboring countries while banning cession of its territory.

Russia has stressed the need for Japan to accept the results of World War II, including the status of the islands, Zakharova said. There has been no change in this approach, she said.

The four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands, seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of the war, have long been claimed by Japan.

The territorial dispute has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.

JIJI Press