Japan-Russia peace treaty “historic mission”: Abe

September 6, 2019

Vladivostok, Russia--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that they fulfill a "historic mission" of concluding a World War II peace treaty by resolving their countries' territorial dispute.

Abe reiterated his strong resolve to finish the bilateral peace treaty negotiations in the presence of Putin at a plenary session of the annual Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.

"We have a historic mission. We shouldn't keep people waiting any longer," Abe stressed. "Let's make it through the finish line together."

"Let's unlock the infinite potential of both countries' peoples by concluding a peace treaty. Let's make history together," he continued.

Asked by the session's moderator after Abe's speech, Putin said he wants to resolve the pending issues, too. The two countries are moving toward the conclusion of a peace treaty, he added.

Meanwhile, Putin mentioned the possible deployment of U.S. missiles in Japan or South Korea as a significant threat to his country.

Eager to dispel the Russian concerns, Abe said Japan has never been consulted by the United States about any plans to deploy missiles in Asia since the expiration of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last month.

In his speech, Abe also highlighted Japanese companies' expansion into Russia, citing a Japanese trading firm's decision in June to invest in a Russian liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic. Jiji Press