Russian analyst plays down Japan's new claim on Russian islands

03/07/200918:55

MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) - A new law passed by Japan's parliament calling the south Kuril islands a part of Japan is merely a propaganda move, as Russia has no plans to hand the islands over, a Russian expert on the issue said on Friday.

Japan's upper house of parliament passed a bill earlier in the day calling the four islands, which were annexed by the Soviet Union after World War II, an "integral part of Japan." The bill had been approved by the lower house in June.

"Their position is absolutely rigid, and does not allow for any compromise - this is yet another gesture that I think has a major propaganda factor - in any event we will not hand these islands over to Japan in the foreseeable future," Prof. Vladimir Alpatov, deputy director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RIA Novosti.

Alpatov said the bill was an internal issue for Japan, and had no standing in international law.

"I think this conflict will remain frozen for many years and decades... The Japanese now see us as a weak state, but not so weak that Japan can dictate its conditions. Clearly, there can be no military conflict, and Russia has no intention of handing over the islands through peaceful means."

The dispute over the islands has so far prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty.