Kyodo: China has changed its position on the issue of ownership of the southern part of the Kuriles
For the first time in almost 60 years, China has changed its position on the issue of ownership of the southern part of the Kuril Islands, becoming neutral, Kyodo reported. Agency at the same time refers to sources close to the Chinese side and emphasizes that the decision brought Beijing and Moscow even closer.
Former PRC President Mao Zedong, as the agency recalls, expressed support for Japan on this territorial issue in 1964, and since then this topic has not been raised in the PRC. But Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a meeting in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to a Kyodo source, indicated that China «will not take the position of either side.»
Chinese position on the issue of ownership the southern part of the Kuriles, according to the Japanese agency, «will further complicate the negotiations» on a peace treaty.
Since the middle of the 20th century, Russia and Japan have been negotiating to work out a peace agreement following the results of World War II. The main obstacle to this is still territorial disagreements over the rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands.