Abe, Putin on collision course over islands

Simmering tension between Moscow and Tokyo over the islands has ramped up in recent weeks, with Russia angrily accusing Japan of whipping up tension ahead of the summit and failing to accept it lost World War II.

Setting the tone for the talks, Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov admitted the meeting would “not be easy.”

The Russian army claimed the four islands in the closing days of World War II and a dispute over their sovereignty prevented the two countries signing a peace treaty — a situation both countries have vowed to rectify.

The islands, off the northern coast of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, are known as the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

During a New Year address, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sparked outrage in Moscow when he spoke of the need to help Russian residents on the disputed islands “accept and understand that the sovereignty of their homes will change.”

A furious Russia summoned the Japanese ambassador to complain that Abe’s statements were an “attempt to artificially stir up the atmosphere” over the issue of a possible peace treaty.

Moscow also fumed Japan was trying to “disorientate” the public and that the Japanese leader’s statements “flagrantly distort the essence of the agreements” reached by Putin and Abe in Singapore in November, where they vowed to accelerate efforts towards peace.

Talks lasting several hours between the two foreign ministers on Monday failed to improve the situation, with Taro Kono and Sergei Lavrov not even appearing together for a joint press conference.