Russia Rules Out Peace Talks Resumption with Japan: Official

Moscow, Feb. 7, 2025: Russia currently finds no scope for restarting peace treaty negotiations with Japan due to Tokyo’s increasingly confrontational approach, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko stated, as reported by the TASS news agency on Friday.

“Joint military activities involving the United States and other NATO countries are visibly intensifying near our Far Eastern borders. Simultaneously, Japan continues to extend direct material and technical assistance to the Kiev administration,” Rudenko said in an interview with Russian daily Izvestia. “Under these circumstances, there is no room for resuming negotiations with Tokyo on a crucial agreement that was intended to lay the groundwork for long-term, amicable relations.”

According to Rudenko, since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in February 2022, the Japanese government has systematically worked toward dismantling bilateral ties, which had been painstakingly developed over decades through mutual efforts.

“The Japanese leadership’s current policies have significantly undermined the diplomatic framework that once facilitated dialogue between our nations,” he remarked. “Since 2022, Tokyo has adopted an overtly hostile stance, imposing sanctions, curtailing diplomatic exchanges, and aligning itself with Western nations in opposition to Russia’s strategic interests.”

The Russian official stressed that any normalization of intergovernmental dialogue remains unrealistic unless Tokyo takes substantial, tangible measures to reverse its adversarial policies. He asserted that Japan’s current trajectory is not only eroding bilateral relations but also contributing to heightened instability in the Asia-Pacific region.

“In the absence of a shift in Japan’s approach, there can be no meaningful discussions on peace negotiations. The deepening rift between our countries is an inevitable outcome of Tokyo’s deliberate choices,” Rudenko concluded.

Relations between Russia and Japan have remained strained for decades, primarily due to the unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. The diplomatic deadlock worsened after Japan aligned with Western sanctions against Russia following the Ukraine conflict. With both nations reinforcing their respective strategic alliances, the prospects for a breakthrough in peace treaty negotiations appear bleak.