Russia says no peace dialogue ongoing with Japan over territorial dispute

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Reuters) - ‌The Kremlin ​said ​on Friday that relations with Japan had been reduced to zero over ‌Tokyo's "unfriendly" stance towards Russia, and there was ⁠no ongoing dialogue towards peace.

Russia and Japan never signed ‌a formal World War ‌II peace treaty, with the main obstacle being an unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril ​Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

In her inaugural address to parliament on ⁠Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said: "Although Japan-Russia relations are in ​a tough spot, the Japanese government’s position remains unchanged, aiming to resolve the ​territorial issue and conclude ‌a peace treaty," according to Russia's TASS state news agency.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry ⁠Peskov, however, said Russia's relations with Japan "have been reduced to zero" over what he cast as Tokyo's "unfriendly ⁠stance" towards Moscow.

"There is no dialogue, and it is ​impossible to discuss the issue of a peace treaty without dialogue," he told reporters at a daily briefing. "Russia ‌has never been in favour of ending this dialogue."

"...Under these circumstances, it ‌is unlikely that any agreements can be reached ⁠without changing the ‌modalities of our ​relations," he added.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Gleb ‌Bryanski)

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