Moscow, December 17. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia may take place on January 21, 2019.
"This date was mentioned among the other dates," Peskov said. "Still, the work to finalize it is not completed, and we continue to prepare for this visit." The Kremlin spokesman promised that as soon as the sides strictly coordinate the date of the upcoming meeting, the presidential press service will inform the media.
At the meeting in Singapore on November 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo 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, Habomai and a number of small uninhabited islands of the Lesser Kuril Chain as a gesture of good will after the peace treaty is ultimately signed. The declaration was ratified by the two countries’ parliaments on December 8, 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 The Soviet government said back then that the islands would be handed over to Japan only when all foreign forces were withdrawn from its territory.
After the December 1 meeting in Buenos Aires Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to galvanize talks to develop the peace treaty, placing responsibility for them on the foreign ministers of the two countries.