Commenting on plans by the United States and Japan to deepen their military cooperation as part of the AUKUS military alliance, Peskov said: "De facto, there is a defensive union already. We know about the US military potential deployed in Japan, near our border."
According to him, the US military presence "has always impeded attempts at resolving <…> the key problem - the peace treaty problem."
The Financial Times reported earlier that the three AUKUS members, namely Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, are weighing bringing Japan into their security pact. The news came amid Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the United States.
Moscow and Tokyo have been in negotiations on a peace treaty based on the outcome of World War II since the mid-20th century. The main obstacle to such an accord remains the disagreement over rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands.
After the war, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but Japan disputes the ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan, as well as several small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that Russia’s sovereignty over these islands is based on a firm legal foundation and is indisputable.
RHM/PR