Russian deputy FM says impossible to resume peace treaty talks with Japan under current situation

MOSCOW -- Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of resuming peace treaty talks with Tokyo under the current situation.

"In the current situation, returning to dialogue on the issue of the above-mentioned treaty is categorically impossible," Rudenko was quoted by Russia news agency TASS as saying.

Rudenko said that the Japanese government's "short-sighted policy" had brought bilateral relations to a post-war low, and that Tokyo had to abandon its hostility towards Russia and take concrete steps to normalize ties instead of sending vague signals.

After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Japan began to take "an openly unfriendly course towards Russia," Rudenko said, citing Japan's sanctions on Russia, the Russophobic sentiments in Japan, "anti-Russian propaganda" on international and regional platforms, and Japan's assistance to Ukraine.