Tokyo mum on Putin’s remarks on peace treaty
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The Japanese government will not comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks about the peace treaty issue outside the negotiation platform so as not to harm the course of the bilateral dialogue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.

"I would like to refrain from commenting on certain specific statements," he said when asked to comment on the Russian president’s statements on bilateral ties made at his annual news conference on Thursday.

"There are fears that explaining our stance and way of thinking anywhere outside the negotiation platform can have an adverse effect on the talks with Russia themselves," he stressed.

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin said that it was essential to take into account security issues in concluding a peace treaty with Japan. He stressed that Russia was concerned about the United States’ plans to deploy American missile defense systems to Japan. The president also noted that Russia remained curious about the level of Japan’s independence from Washington in making decisions to host US military infrastructure.