?
Contemplating a Russia-Japan Rapprochement
On June 29, 2019, the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo met for the 26th time, this time at the G20 summit in Osaka. The long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan continues to be an issue, but the dialogue revealed a few interesting trends. Abe emphasised “strategic importance” of strengthening relations with Moscow in political and economic sphere as well as that of joint projects on the disputed isles, which could eventually help facilitate the conclusion of a peace treaty. Putin also stressed the significance of bilateral documents signed during his visit to Japan. He asserted that expanding partnership and strategic communication, bilateral trade and investment cooperation would bring Russian-Japanese relations to a qualitatively new level. In this atmosphere, it would be possible to ‘find a compromise on the most difficult matters.’ It appears that both parties are delaying the territorial dispute resolution in the hope that building a firm partnership could help solve the problem.