Russia Raps Remarks by Japan’s Suga for Hindering Peace Treaty Talks

September 6, 2018

Moscow- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday criticized Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga's remarks on Tokyo's protest lodged against ceremonies held earlier this month to celebrate Moscow's World War II victory over Japan.

An official of the ministry said it believes that Japan's stubborn refusal to learn from the past will become a serious impediment to the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries.

The top Japanese government spokesman told a press conference on Tuesday that Tokyo had lodged a protest through diplomatic channels against the Russian ceremonies held on islands at the center of the two countries' longstanding territorial dispute.

The Russian ministry official said that Moscow has been perplexed by Suga's remarks. They showed that Japan is now forgetting the results of the war, the official said, adding that Japan should reflect on its past seriously, instead of lodging a protest.

The northwestern Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan, were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of the war. The territorial row has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities. Jiji Press