YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (Far East), June 3 (RIA Novosti) - A mutually satisfactory solution to the Russia-Japan territorial dispute should be sought, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday.
Lavrov visited June 3 the disputed southern Kuril islands, which Japan claims to be part of its territory.
"We are prepared to look for a solution that is mutually acceptable, meets the interests of the peoples of Russia and Japan and relies on realities. The inviolability of the World War II results are such realities," Lavrov said.
The long-running dispute over four southern islands annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty that would formally end their WWII hostilities, and has been a major obstacle to closer cooperation between the two nations in areas such as energy.
At the same time, Lavrov said Russia was offering Japan cooperation in the implementation of projects to develop Sakhalin Island and the region as a whole.
"Russian laws provide all the necessary conditions for that. We are ready to consider the wishes of Japanese colleagues. If they believe that something is missing in these laws, we are prepared to consider their wishes and the possibility of concluding inter-governmental agreements," Lavrov said.
