Japan considers option of seeking return of Russian-held islands in two stages
2016-10-10 09:04:42 source：Japan Times
October 9, 2016
"The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is examining the option of concluding a peace treaty with Russia upon Moscow's agreement to return two of the four disputed islands northeast off Hokkaido, government sources said Sunday.
Abe hopes to resolve the long-standing sovereignty issue involving the Russian-controlled islands, also called the Northern Territories, in a flexible manner without sticking to the conventional stance of realizing the return of all of them at once, the sources said.
The prime minister is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Peru on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in November and hold a bilateral summit in Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in December."
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