China hopes Russia, Japan mend ties: Beijing
The Chinese foreign ministry voices Beijing's hopes for a rapprochement between Russia and Japan in light of their diplomatic dispute sparked by Tokyo imposing sanctions on Moscow.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin
Beijing has been paying attention to the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Tokyo, and it hopes for the normalization of ties between Russia and Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday.
"We have paid attention to this information. China hopes that Moscow and Tokyo will successfully resolve the relevant issues," he told a press briefing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described Tuesday Russia's decision to end talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo as "unacceptable." However, what the Japanese premier forgot to mention is that Moscow's move came in protest against Tokyo's sanctions on Russia.
Japan had sanctioned 15 Russian individuals and nine additional businesses in connection with the special military operation in Ukraine.
"The Russian side, under the current conditions, does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on the peace treaty as it is impossible to discuss the signing of a fundamental document on bilateral relations with a state that takes openly unfriendly positions and seeks to harm the interests of our country," Moscow's Foreign Ministry said.
Premier Kishida also clarified that the Japanese government did not intend to revise the budget for the 2022 fiscal year (starting on April 1), which, in particular, provides for the development of economic cooperation with Russia, since these funds were aimed at supporting national enterprises.
Russia also announced it would be banning Japanese citizens from visiting the Kuril islands without a visa in light of Tokyo's actions.
After WWII, Russia and Japan did not sign a formal peace treaty, and they have territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands. With both sides still -technically- 'at war', the sovereign fate of the islands is still unclear.
"Russia has refused to continue peace treaty talks with Japan. In the context of the Kuril Islands, this is a historically justified step that is long overdue and fair," Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote in a Telegram post on Tuesday.
Russia had launched a special military operation for several reasons, including NATO's eastward expansion. Other reasons were the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
