Japan-Russia summit may skip talks on disputed islands

ANKARA Japan has reportedly decided to drop a proposal which would seek an agreement with Russia over a number of disputed islands off the coast of northern Japan when President Vladimir Putin visits Tokyo in June. According to daily Mainichi Shimbun, Japan was considering a proposal to "reach a broad agreement" with Russia over the four Russian-controlled islands, namely Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai, and Shikotan in Japan. "Yet talks [over the disputed islands] between the two countries are bound to be drawn out," the daily said. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday told a press conference that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Putin "share a firm determination to put an end to the territorial dispute during their tenure". "Russia continues to maintain a hard-line stance over the issue," the daily added. Abe and Putin had in last November agreed to accelerate negotiations based on the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration. The declaration requires that the islands of Habomai and Shikotan would be returned to Japanese sovereignty after a bilateral peace treaty had been signed.