[ISL] "Russia will not agree to joint administration of Southern Kurils - analysts"
Russia Beyond the Headlines' Gleb Fedorov notes that Russia remains strongly opposed to any talk of shared sovereignty with Japan over any of the Kuril islands.
Valery Kistanov, Japan expert from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, believes that the Nikkei article “was a deliberate leak” to test Russia’s reaction to this idea.
”Nikkei, a mouthpiece of Japan's business lobby, would not publish an article based on rumors,” Kistanov said. “I do not rule out the fact that this idea may have been discussed behind closed doors."
Dmitry Streltsov, an expert in Japan studies from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), says the leak “may be aimed at publicly creating an illusion of the possibility of ‘jointly governed territories,’ which could be seen as a step forward for Japan.”
Former Russian Ambassador to Japan Alexander Panov, who is believed to have a certain degree of influence on Russia's foreign policy towards Japan told RBTH, that Moscow and Tokyo seem to have agreed to resolve the dispute in a step-by-step manner.
"Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga claimed that this (joint administration) was not part of a plan that Tokyo conveyed to Moscow,” Panov told RBTH. “What exactly was conveyed is not known.”
Valery Kistanov, Japan expert from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, believes that the Nikkei article “was a deliberate leak” to test Russia’s reaction to this idea.
”Nikkei, a mouthpiece of Japan's business lobby, would not publish an article based on rumors,” Kistanov said. “I do not rule out the fact that this idea may have been discussed behind closed doors."
Dmitry Streltsov, an expert in Japan studies from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), says the leak “may be aimed at publicly creating an illusion of the possibility of ‘jointly governed territories,’ which could be seen as a step forward for Japan.”
Former Russian Ambassador to Japan Alexander Panov, who is believed to have a certain degree of influence on Russia's foreign policy towards Japan told RBTH, that Moscow and Tokyo seem to have agreed to resolve the dispute in a step-by-step manner.
"Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga claimed that this (joint administration) was not part of a plan that Tokyo conveyed to Moscow,” Panov told RBTH. “What exactly was conveyed is not known.”