Translated material
The principle of passive defense
The Japanese reassure the Russians about missile defense
Today in Harbin, China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with colleagues from China and India. And yesterday, following a one-day visit to Japan, he admitted that “joint work” on a peace treaty with this country “will be long-lasting”: “The solution to the problem of a peace treaty should only be mutually acceptable to the public and parliaments of both countries.” We are talking about finding a solution to the problem of the southern islands of the Kuril chain, which Japan is seeking in exchange for a peace treaty with Russia .However, Sergei Lavrov believes that the absence of a peace treaty should not interfere with the growth of economic cooperation and joint projects, on the contrary: “Then it will be easier to find a solution to a peace treaty.”
The head of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Masahiko Komura, did not object to this approach and said that on November 5, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin was expected to visit Tokyo. Before this, on October 26, in Vladivostok, specialists from both countries will develop joint projects for the development of the Russian Far East and Siberia. And on December 6, the discussion of these topics within the framework of the strategic dialogue will be continued by the deputy heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (from Russia - first deputy Andrei Denisov).
The Japanese minister assured that the intensified cooperation between Japan, Australia and the United States, including in the military field, is not directed against anyone else: “These countries have common interests and a common system of values in the Pacific Ocean. There is no talk of a military alliance ". He added that the missile defense system being created in his country (it is supposed to be integrated into the American one) will play the “role of a shield” and meets the “principle of passive defense.”
Thus, although the territorial dispute cannot be resolved, Russia and Japan will develop cooperation. It is no coincidence that the press service of the Japanese Embassy in Moscow yesterday especially drew the attention of Vremya Novostey to the fact that the new Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, giving his first keynote speech in early October, mentioned Russia in it. True, on the seven pages of the compact text of this speech, only the following is sparingly said about our country: “And with Russia we will patiently move towards resolving the problem of the “northern territories” (in Japanese terminology - the Russian Southern Kuril Islands. - Ed. ), striving to “This is to develop exchanges between the two countries.”