Japanese PM Shinzo Abe likely to visit Moscow on January 21

TOKYO, Dec 17, 2018, TASS. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to pay a visit to Moscow on January 21, 2019 to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japan’s newspaper Sankei reported on Monday, reported the TASS.

According to the newspaper, both sides currently in work on the approval of this date for the Japanese premier’s visit to Russia.

Prime Minister Abe earlier stated on several occasions that he planned to pay a visit to Russia early next year for another round of talks to conclude a peace treaty.

At the meeting in Singapore on November 14, Russian President Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Abe agreed to intensify Russian-Japanese talks on concluding a peace treaty based on the Joint Declaration signed on October 19, 1956 on ceasing the state of war. The two countries resumed diplomatic and other relations, but no peace treaty has been signed so far.

Under Article 9 of the declaration, the Soviet Union agreed to hand over Shikotan and Habomai as a gesture of good will after the peace treaty is ultimately signed. The declaration was ratified by the two countries’ parliaments in December 1956.

However in response to Japan’s signing a security treaty with the United States in 1960, the Soviet Union revoked its liabilities concerning the transfer of the islands. The Soviet government said back then that the islands would be handed over to Japan only when all foreign forces were withdrawn from its territory.