Russia’s sovereignty over Kuril Islands not negotiable, Lavrov says after Japan talks

Russia’s sovereignty over the Kuril Islands is non-negotiable, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the first round of Russian-Japanese talks on a peace treaty. On Monday, Lavrov held talks in Moscow with his visiting Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono. “We pointed out to our Japanese friends that the sovereignty over the islands was non-negotiable. This is Russia’s territory,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying. The top Russian diplomat stressed that Tokyo did not make any objections to Russia’s statement that the results of World War II are not subject to review.