“Under the current circumstances, Russia does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan for a peace treaty,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Japan’s “openly unfriendly positions and attempts to protect our interests.” to harm the country”.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he strongly opposed Russia’s decision, calling it “unfair” and “totally unacceptable”.
“This whole situation was created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s response to push this into Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable,” he said, adding that Japan’s stance on of seeking a peace treaty was unchanged and that it had protested the Russian move.
“Japan must continue to resolutely punish Russia in conjunction with the rest of the world,” he added.
Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan has lodged a protest with the Russian ambassador in Tokyo.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Japan last week announced plans to revoke the trade status of Russia’s most favored nation, extend the scope of asset freezes against Russian elites, and ban imports of certain products.
Announcing the measures last week, Kishida said Japan will also work with international aid agencies to provide food and medicine to Ukrainians. He added that Japan had started accepting evacuees from Ukraine and enlisted the public’s support.
Last year, President Vladimir Putin said that both Tokyo and Moscow wanted good relations and called it absurd that they had not reached a peace agreement.
Russia has also withdrawn from talks with Japan over joint business projects in the Kuril Islands and has ended visa-free travel by Japanese citizens, the statement said.