Russia stops treaty talks with Japan over sanctions

MOSCOW－The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it will no longer continue peace treaty negotiations with Japan, in response to Tokyo's sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow will also cancel visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the four disputed Pacific islands, which are known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

The Russian side is withdrawing from the dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities in these islands.

"The Russian side, in the current conditions, does not intend to continue talks with Japan on the peace treaty," said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It said this was "due to the impossibility of discussing the core document on bilateral relations with a country that has taken an openly hostile position and is striving to cause harm to the interests of our country".

"All the responsibility for the harm to our bilateral cooperation and the interests of Japan itself lies with … Tokyo," said the ministry, accusing Japan of "consciously choosing an anti-Russian course".

Russia will also block the extension of Japan's status as a sectoral dialogue partner of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Following the lead of Western countries, Japan has imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have not signed a post-World War II peace treaty due to their rival claims over the four islands.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he strongly opposed Russia's decision, terming it "unfair "and "completely unacceptable".

He added that Japan's attitudes toward seeking a peace treaty were unchanged and it had protested the Russian move.

Kishida met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Saturday in an attempt to persuade New Delhi to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe met dozens of times in hope of resolving the long-running territorial dispute.

Agencies - Xinhua