MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Japanese media reported that Tokyo was preparing a plan including implementation of joint Russian-Japanese projects on the Kuril Islands, in particular in the fields of healthcare, fishing, tourism and environment protection. According to the Nikkei newspaper, the plan will be presented at the upcoming intergovernmental talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba on March 18.
"Both sides will profit from joint economic activities on the Kuril Islands. Russia has been offering it for a long time. It is good both for the Kurils and for relations with Japan," Pushkov wrote on Twitter.
От совместной хоз.деятельности на Курилах выиграют обе стороны. Россия давно это предлагала. Хорошо и для Курил, и для отношений с Японией.
— Алексей Пушков (@Alexey_Pushkov) February 26, 2017
The disagreement over the group of islands, called the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, is the reason the countries never signed a permanent peace treaty after the World War II.
In December 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the second rounds of talks on the issue of resolving the Kuril Islands standoff. The two leaders agreed to create a special regime on the islands leading to the implementation of joint economic projects in the area.
