Russian, Japanese top diplomats meet

Russia and Japan are set to hold crisis talks amid a bitter war of words over a disputed chain of islands, Deutsche Welle reports. The discord has kept the two countries from formally signing a peace treaty to end World War II. Russian, Japanese top diplomats meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart, Seiji Maehara are to meet in Moscow Friday to discuss a decades-long conflict over a chain of islands off northern Japan and occupied by the Soviet army at the end of World War II. The row over the four islands, known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, was reignited in November when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made an unprecedented visit. Ahead of the closed-door talks, the two sides have sharpened their rhetoric. Lavrov warned Japan that its behavior was unacceptable and has described the islands as a "strategic region" of Russia, set to be the site of some of its most advanced weaponry. "The additional weapons which will be deployed there must be sufficient and modern to ensure the security of these islands which are an inseparable part of the Russian Federation," Medvedev said on Wednesday. But Tokyo stood firm. "Regardless of how many [Russian] senior officials go there and who goes there, and whether it increases or decreases its military presence, the legal value [of Russia's claim] does not change," Maehara said. "Our resolve remains absolutely unwavering." Only about 19,000 people live on the islands, which have no major industry aside from fishing. The dispute over the islands has troubled bilateral relations between the two countries despite growing economic ties, preventing them from signing a peace treaty to formally end their World War II hostilities. A view of Kunashir, part of the Kurils (Kyodo News/FoNet, file)

Russian, Japanese top diplomats meet

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart, Seiji Maehara are to meet in Moscow Friday to discuss a decades-long conflict over a chain of islands off northern Japan and occupied by the Soviet army at the end of World War II.

The row over the four islands, known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, was reignited in November when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made an unprecedented visit.

Ahead of the closed-door talks, the two sides have sharpened their rhetoric. Lavrov warned Japan that its behavior was unacceptable and has described the islands as a "strategic region" of Russia, set to be the site of some of its most advanced weaponry.

"The additional weapons which will be deployed there must be sufficient and modern to ensure the security of these islands which are an inseparable part of the Russian Federation," Medvedev said on Wednesday.

But Tokyo stood firm. "Regardless of how many [Russian] senior officials go there and who goes there, and whether it increases or decreases its military presence, the legal value [of Russia's claim] does not change," Maehara said.

"Our resolve remains absolutely unwavering."

Only about 19,000 people live on the islands, which have no major industry aside from fishing.

The dispute over the islands has troubled bilateral relations between the two countries despite growing economic ties, preventing them from signing a peace treaty to formally end their World War II hostilities.