PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, July 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov sees no problem in Russia and Japan reaching deadlock in settling the territorial issue concerning the four Kuril Islands.
"It is obvious that the talks between Russia and Japan came to a dead end, and I see nothing terrible in this," Ivanov said Thursday in Russia's Far East.
Ivanov said that despite everything, Russia and Japan have been successfully cooperating in the military sphere for many years.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after his visit to Japan in late May that it was impossible to settle the issue under the current conditions. He said Japan did not set any time frames for the settlement of the issue and that would not obstruct the development of overall cooperation between the two countries.
Japan demands that Russia return the four Kuril Islands, which were allegedly captured by the Soviet Union in 1945 after WWII.
