ISTANBUL

The Kremlin on Friday said that the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is "unlikely" without a change in the modalities of ties between Moscow and Tokyo.

At a press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that relations between Russia and Japan have been “reduced to zero” and that there is no dialogue taking place between the two countries.

“Discussing a peace treaty without dialogue is impossible,” Peskov said.

Expressing that Moscow has never supported the end of bilateral dialogue, Peskov claimed it was “interrupted at Tokyo's initiative” and that Japan maintains an “unfriendly” stance toward Russia.

“Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that any agreements can be reached without changing the modalities of our relations,” he added.

Both countries have an ongoing territorial dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands, namely Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai islets, which are controlled by Russia, but Japan identifies them as the Northern Territories.

The dispute has prevented the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries since World War II, and tensions have deepened in recent years amid Tokyo’s sanctions against Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.