Russia Says Tokyo Must Abandon 'Anti-Russian Stance' to Resume Dialogue

A senior Russian diplomat has said Japan must abandon its current stance toward Russia before dialogue between the two countries can resume, reiterating Moscow's position that a peace treaty with Tokyo remains off the table.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko recalled that Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to unilateral restrictions imposed by Japan against Russia on March 21, 2022, over the situation in Ukraine. That statement said Moscow did not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on a peace treaty.

Russia and Japan have never signed a formal peace treaty ending the Second World War, largely due to an unresolved territorial dispute over islands known in Russia as the Southern Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. Talks on the issue had continued intermittently for decades before relations deteriorated sharply following Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Since 2022, Japan has aligned itself with Western sanctions against Russia and has provided support to Ukraine, moves that Moscow has repeatedly criticized as unfriendly. Rudenko's comments reaffirm that Russia views these measures as a fundamental obstacle to restoring normal diplomatic engagement with Tokyo.

No indication was given in the available remarks of any planned shift in either country's position, suggesting the diplomatic freeze between Moscow and Tokyo is likely to persist for now.