Protest Against Transferring Kuril Islands To Japan Takes Place In Moscow

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2019) A rally calling for preserving territorial integrity of Russia and opposing possible handover of disputed Kuril Islands to Japan has taken place on Sunday at Suvorovskaya Square in Moscow, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Representatives of the Left Front, the Party Action, the Novorossia movement, the Solidarnost (Solidarity) movement and other organizations participated in the rally. Protesters called for maintaining territorial integrity of Russia and voiced their protest against transferring Kuril Islands to Japan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to address the peace treaty talks during their meeting on January 22, when the head of the Japanese government will be paying a working visit to Russia.

Earlier in January, Moscow and Tokyo held the first round of talks on the conclusion of a permanent peace treaty, which should finally mark the end of the state of war between the two countries after World War II. Abe said that Japan would claim sovereignty over the Kurils, which have long been stalling the peace process, but had no intention of deporting Russian citizens living there if the islands were indeed conceded to Tokyo.

The Southern Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, are at the heart of a territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. Tokyo lays claim to Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and the Habomai islets. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a post-WWII peace treaty.