L'AQUILA, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged Japan on Friday to refrain from politicizing the two countries' territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands.
"It is desirable - and I told my Japanese colleague this - not to politicize this problem," Medvedev said at a news conference after the end of the G8 summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila.
"It is a complicated topic, but what is important is that discussions are being held not only between experts, but also at the highest level," he added.
The Japanese parliament recognized the four southern islands of the Kuril chain as "historical" Japanese territory on July 3. Russia's upper house of parliament retaliated on Tuesday by asking the president to consider ending the visa-free system between Japan and the islands, which has been in force since 1992.
The lengthy dispute over the islands has so far prevented Russia and Japan from signing a formal WWII peace treaty. The islands were annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of the war.
In 2006 Russia offered to return to Japan the Shikotan and Khabomai islands, with a combined area of just 276 square kilometers (172 square miles), or 6% of the disputed territory, on the condition that Tokyo renounced its claims to the two larger islands, Iturup and Kunashir, whose combined area totals 4,629 square kilometers (2,890 square miles).
Japan rejected the proposal, claiming a right to all four islands.
