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Japan counts on US support in case of peace treaty with Russia - advisor to Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe is expected to visit Russia in the second half of January

TOKYO, January 9. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes that the U.S. will support his efforts to conclude a peace treaty with Russia as a means of containing China, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday citing Katsuyuki Kawai, special advisor for Foreign Affairs to Shinzo Abe.

Kawai was speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Tuesday.

"I would like the US to understand the importance of concluding a Japanese-Russian peace treaty as a means of jointly countering the threat from China," the agency quoted him as saying.

"Prime Minister Abe is determined to sign this document and resolve the territorial dispute with Russia during his tenure as the head of the government."

Abe is expected to visit Russia in the second half of January. Ahead of his visit, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will hold consultations in Moscow on January 14.

At the meeting in Singapore on November 14, 2018, Putin and 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 when the peace treaty is ultimately signed. The declaration was ratified by the two countries’ parliaments on December 8, 1956.

The Russian leadership repeatedly stated that it recognizes that document, but believes that its provisions need clarification and specification.

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