Putin avoids islands dispute, but urges ties with Tokyo
Russian president Vladimir Putin said today stronger economic relations between Russia and Japan would help improve ties between the countries, strained by a 60-year territorial dispute.
But Putin, who will meet Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi later, has warned he will not discuss ceding control of the four tiny, sparsely-populated islands off the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The islands were seized by the Soviet army in the closing days of the Second World War and the dispute over their ownership has prevented the two nations from signing a peace treaty that would formally end their wartime hostilities
With no deal on the islands in sight, both Moscow and Tokyo have tried to ease tensions by moving to issues where the two nations can co-operate, such as trade.
“I’m confident that building stable, pragmatic long-term economic ties is being supported by politicians’ efforts to build a constructive partnership,” Putin said at a meeting of 500 Russian and Japanese business leaders in Tokyo.
“This dialogue will contribute to more openness and confidence between our business communities.”
Putin arrived in Japan yesterday for a three-day visit, during which the Japanese government is expected to sign an agreement endorsing Moscow’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation.
Russia, which has to strike separate deals with WTO members as a condition for joining the 148-member global trade body, has launched economic and legal reforms in order to qualify for the membership. It has yet to negotiate a deal with the US.
“Russia’s accession into this organisation will help strengthen trade ties with Japan and make them more stable,” Putin said.
Putin also said Russia remained committed to building an oil pipeline to the Pacific Ocean that would deliver Siberian crude to Japan and other nations in the region.
“The construction of the oil pipeline, leading from eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, opens big prospects,” he said. “We are going to lead it to the Pacific coast for bringing energy resources to the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.”
Tokyo has voiced a strong interest in a pipeline that would pump the oil to Russia’s Pacific coast for export to Japan, while China, also avidly seeking Russian oil to drive its booming economy, has pushed for an alternate route.
“I’m confident that the implementation of this project will significantly strengthen the energy infrastructure of the entire region,” Putin said.
Last year the Russian Cabinet endorsed the Japanese-backed route to the Pacific coast, but then decided the destination for its first stage would be near the Chinese border.
Putin and Koizumi are also expected to sign agreements on joint anti-terror efforts, co-operation in information technologies and communications, and Japanese aid for dismantling Russia’s decommissioned nuclear submarines, a Kremlin official said.
