Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of resuming peace treaty talks with Tokyo under the current circumstances.
"In the current situation, returning to dialogue on the issue of the above-mentioned treaty is categorically impossible," Russian news agency TASS quoted Rudenko as saying.
A view of the main building of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, Russia, October 18, 2023. /CFP
Rudenko said that the Japanese government's "short-sighted policy" had brought bilateral relations to a post-war low, and that Tokyo had to abandon its hostility towards Russia and take concrete steps to normalize ties instead of sending vague signals.
After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Japan began to take "an openly unfriendly course towards Russia," Rudenko said, citing Japan's sanctions on Russia, the Russophobic sentiments in Japan, "anti-Russian propaganda" on international and regional platforms, and Japan's assistance to Ukraine.
(With input from Xinhua)