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Russian-Japanese Peace Treaty Cannot Take Shape 'Overnight' - Putin

© REUTERS / Alexander Zemlianichenko/PoolRussian President Vladimir Putin, left, confers with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a working lunch in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, confers with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a working lunch in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. - Sputnik International
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An agreement on signing a Russian-Japanese peace treaty must meet both sides' strategic interests and cannot be reached "overnight," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Police officers stand guard near the Russian embassy in Tokyo, Japan December 16, 2016, ahead of the arrival of Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Tokyo - Sputnik International
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TOKYO (Sputnik) — Putin is visiting Japan on December 15-16. On Thursday, he held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the city of Nagato in Yamaguchi Prefecture. On Friday, Putin and Abe met in Tokyo and discussed the possibility of signing a peace treaty between the two countries.

"As we know, this issue has been discussed for over 70 years. It would be naive to think that we can settle it overnight. But it is, of course, necessary to look for a solution which would meet both Russian and Japanese strategic interests and be accepted by the people of both countries," Putin said at a press conference following the meeting with Abe.

The president stressed that the technical state of war between the two countries is an outdated anachronism, adding that the settlement of the Russian-Japanese dispute over the Kuril islands may speed up the signing of a peace treaty.

"If we take the right steps in the direction set by the prime minister's plan, and the prime minister proposed to create a separate organization on economic activity on the islands and sign an intergovernmental agreement, we can on this basis create conditions allowing us to achieve a final decision on the peace treaty problem," Putin said. The president stressed that the technical state of war between the two countries is an outdated anachronism.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, attends a working lunch with Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, (not pictured), at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, December 16, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Moreover, the signing of the peace treaty between Russia and Japan should take precedence over trade and economic issues, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"If someone thinks that we are only interested in establishing economic ties, and are putting the peace treaty on the backburner, this is not true. I think that signing of the peace treaty is the most important thing, because it would create for us the conditions of long-term cooperation … This is more important than activities on the islands," Putin told a press conference.

Moscow and Tokyo never signed a permanent peace treaty after the World War II due to a disagreement over the group of islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories, encompassing Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.

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