Putin waiting for invitation to visit Japan: Lavrov

We understand perfectly that unfortunately, Japan is not the only country that is not fully independent in its foreign policy,” he said.

Right, he should know, coming from the other side of the coin.

I hope Japan and russia can sign the peace treaty

We choose our friends wisely, thank you Mr P. Democratic countries tend to stick together, as they should.

There's is no way Putin will ever give those islands back anyway.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that invite.

UdondashiAPR. 13, 2016 - 07:05AM JST I hope Japan and russia can sign the peace treaty

The Soviet Un, er . . . I mean, Russia has no intention of returning the islands, so a "peace treaty" would be meaningless. The window of opportunity for addressing this was open for about 15 minutes in 1946.

If you want to get down it, they rightfully belong to the Ainu anyway.

I wonder at that time, as with Korea in '53, how many extended Ainu families were separated?

“Nothing is preventing President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan,”

Oh, yes there is.

Its called the United States of America.

Strange...Why did Putin enter Ukraine without invitation then?!

I don't think Putin's administration cares about Uncle Sam. Otherwise he wouldn't have entered Ukraine too.

Putin wants a get away from all the Panama paper hype that's going around.

Russia has reached out to Japan on several occasion and this with good intentions. Japan slammed the door shut raging a temper tantrum like a child whose big brother is watching over it so that it would not get hit. The irony is that both Russia and China as well as South Korea have all tried several times now to make a peaceful agreement with Japan. Japan is not that important any longer, neither strategically nor economically. It should stop burning bridges and shutting doors to people who try to make a peaceful and for all side honorable settlement. Russia as well as China or South Korea had no ill intention. It is time to grow up Japan. Sorry to burst the Disney World Bubbles here.

I knew it. He's a vampire.

Japan under PM Abe is still haunted by the brutality of her past .

Why? Because they still deny the wrongs they did and always picture themselves as the victims.

Ironically Tokyo still relishes to be the willing puppet of their conqueror either by choice or is still coerced by the presence of the strong military forces that is there to protect and at the same time contain Japan.

So how can Russia expect Japan to speak for Japan under these circumstances?

Russia ... had no ill intention

Tell it to someone in Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Finland, Afghanistan, Baltic countries etc.

Putin should definitely visit Japan. Mr. Abe could take him for lunch in a modern, clean Italian restaurant and then he could do some judo with schoolchildren before a sunset ride on a giant Ferris wheel. Maybe even a quick look around the Aquazooseum - I bet they don't have any of those in Moscow!

If Mugabe was allowed to visit, why not allow Putin? Shin needs all the friends he can get, and he can't afford to be too choosy...

At least they are talking, it is a good sign.

I hope relations improve and more cooperation between Japan and Russia takes place. It would be mutually beneficial for both countries. At the same time, over time may Japan lessen her ties and dependence on the US. I'd rather Russia be her ally.

Putin may have to wait, like so many women waiting to get into politics, patiently sitting silently with hands folded on lap...

Russia is building military facilities in the Northern Territories, isn't it?

Russia is building military facilities in the Northern Territories, isn't it?

Of course. They are not hiding it.

@Shibuya Boy

Tell it to someone in Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, Finland, Afghanistan, Baltic countries etc.

And what? Japan welcomes US presidents after nuclear bombings, Vietnam, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya etc.

Lavrov has now said that the four islands are entirely negotiable, I see in today's news.

Russians and the North Koreans have similar tactics, they both have loud mouths to piss you off while leaving room to maneuver and bargain

Lavrov and Kishida should have their guys under them meet and decided when Lavrov and Kishida will meet. Those two guys could have their underlings decide stuff for them too... and so on...that way they could have meetings to decide when there will be a meeting... about the next level of meetings!

Time after time on this site, I watch as other posters ridicule Japanese negotiators and leaders when the Russians rattle sabers and thumb their noses over the northern territories issue.

And every time I can, I like to emphasize that time is on Japan's side with this issue. Right after WWII, who could have predicted that Japan would have a leading world economy and that the USSR would not even exist in 70 years? And that Russia would be reduced to peddling base resources just to pay its bills? How long can Russia afford to keep the empire it has, and defend it, from Kamchatka to the Baltic? Submarines and bombers on Kunashiri? Yeah. That'll be the day. Seems like a pricey pipe dream to me.

This little news story underscores the fact, stripped of all the bluster, that Russia would give up quite a lot to have access to high technology, patient capital, and a friendly partner. Or more likely, a new sucker that it can rip off in business dealings. Too bad, Russia. Wait a little longer. Japan has all the natural gas, coal, and oil it can use at the moment. It also has plenty of friends, long term contracts, and business partners who appreciate some yen on a regular basis.

And let's get real everyone, would you rather do business with the US, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia, or put all your eggs in Putin's basket? Let China and Russia do their deals. They deserve each other.

Uwe Paschen: Russia has reached out to Japan on several occasion and this with good intentions. Japan slammed the door shut raging a temper tantrum like a child whose big brother is watching over it so that it would not get hit. The irony is that both Russia and China as well as South Korea have all tried several times now to make a peaceful agreement with Japan. Japan is not that important any longer, neither strategically nor economically. It should stop burning bridges and shutting doors to people who try to make a peaceful and for all side honorable settlement. Russia as well as China or South Korea had no ill intention. It is time to grow up Japan. Sorry to burst the Disney World Bubbles here.

What utter and total rubbish you do talk. China and South Korea have NEVER tried to solve the territorial disputes with Japan peacefully. And it was RUSSIA who has scuppered the deal with Japan by saying they will not return any territory to Tokyo while saying the '56 deal is still valid. That is evidence of Russian speaking with forked tounge

5SpeedRacer5APR. 13, 2016 - 11:19PM JST Time after time on this site, I watch as other posters ridicule Japanese negotiators and leaders when the Russians rattle sabers and thumb their noses over the northern territories issue.

Until the early 20th Century, the Northern Territories/Kuriles meant little to either nation and, unlike the Senkakus, they had traded hands twice in less than 100 years. Contemporarily, except for military installations and fishing rights, they aren't of much value and, as I pointed out earlier, were the domain of the Ainu for hundreds if not thousands of years.

5SpeedRacer5

Time after time on this site, I watch as other posters ridicule Japanese negotiators and leaders when the Russians rattle sabers and thumb their noses over the northern territories issue.

And every time I can, I like to emphasize that time is on Japan's side with this issue.

Once again, very wrong assumptions on every point. Time is not on Japan's side. Once world's number 2 economy Japan now is number 3 at best, and further perspectives are not bright. Plus shrinking and rapidly graying population, ballooning social security costs abd crippling debt.

And while Russia has its share of serious economic problems, its present situation is much better, particularly in compatison to 90s, after collapse of the USSR. Now Russia has negligible national debt, ample gold reserves and vibrant machinery / agricultural sectors. Russia is self-sufficient, that its strongest point, it does not care about the US-imposed sanctions. Obama's bluster "Russia's economy in tatters" is just empty words for gullible laymen. US will by a dozen Russian rocket engines (about 1 billion dollars, hello sanctions!) because without them the whole US space program is simply impossible. Japan needs to strike a deal with Russia now, in five years it will be too late.

Let China and Russia do their deals. They deserve each other.

You'are joking, right? Alliance of Russia and China is a nightmare for Japan, and it is not an exaggeration.

What for?? If Putin is bringing the Northern territories as a present, I am sure Mr. Abe will personally go to Moscow and escort him to Tokyo and throw one big shindig. But we all know them Russians can't be trusted to do anything right so forget about the invite.

Russians and the North Koreans have similar tactics, they both have loud mouths to piss you off while leaving room to maneuver and bargain

So maneuver. He who dares wins. The Kurils are administered by Russia. The Senkakus are administered by Japan.

As far as NK, Japan leaves all the maneuvering and bargaining through the US and UN. Japanese are terrified by what NK can do to them. They think sanctions and such nonsense will actually "work" -not.

AsakazeAPR. 14, 2016 - 01:21AM JST And while Russia has its share of serious economic problems, its present situation is much better, particularly in compatison to 90s, after collapse of the USSR.

While it's true that Russia's economy is nothing like it was in the early 90s, they still export little that anyone wants or needs other than oil/gas and weapons. With oil at the lowest it's been in decades, Russia's economy is in recession. Their population is both aging and declining. Their current military adventures, just as with Afghanistan in the '80s, are an supportable drain on the government.

Japan's future is not rosy, but Russia's is grim, particularly as it's politics have returned to the bad old days of the Soviet Union. There is no reason to believe that there is some long-range advantage to be had with closer ties to Russia. Unless dramatically positive changes are made in the politics of both nations, neither can help the other.

http://www.businessinsider.com/worrying-things-about-russias-economic-contraction-2016-1

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/russian-demographics-perfect-storm

Wise up! the time is not on Russia side,engaging with Japan is a one of Must for Russia.

Wc626APR. 14, 2016 - 01:42AM JST

lets all cheer for the daring uncle sam and its puppet un, because they've done a brilliant job dealing with north korea for the last half century or so, and iraq, and syria, and the russian annexation of crimea, etc etc.

yamashiAPR. 14, 2016 - 06:49AM JST @Jeff Huffman "I mean Russia has no intention of returning the islands". Are you working for Kremlin as spokesperson? Or Kuriles became some sort of your personal problem?

Are you hoping maybe Santa Claus will intervene and convince Russia? They've had them for 71 years now (and for about 200 years before that). Why is now a good time to return them if it wasn't when the U.S. ended its control of Japan in 1952, effectively ending WWII for Japan, or in 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed, ending the regime that seized the islands in 1945?

　Jeff Huffman 　

they still export little that anyone wants or needs other than oil/gas and weapons

Did you read my post carefully? You seem to completely missed the space rockets part. And besides successful space program Russia has robust nuclear energy industry, it revives its civilian aircraft and shipbuilding industries that were top class in Soviet times. And don't forget about agriculture, Russia now among top exporters of wheat. That's the difference between Russia and Saudi Arabia: for Russians low oil prices are unpleasant but not critical, they have other industries to rely on.

About population. I have rather different data (note the influx of Ukrainians who fled the neonazi rule and who take Russian citizenship in masses). We can debate who would die out first, Russians or Japanese, anyway it hardly supports the "Time on Japan's side" thesis. To think so is an exercise in pipe-dreaming.

Jeff Huffman

Your post is merely your opinion unsupported by facts

Exactly as yours.

Their space program is just as shoestring as it was during the Soviet era

Really?? Russians can fly to Space by themselves. Can Americans do that, without Russian engines?

where do you get the idea that the Soviet civilian commercial aircraft industry was top class?

From aviation industry specialists. The Soviet flag carrier "Aeroflot" was among the biggest companies with domestically-built fleet of mechanically very reliable aircraft. Check for example IL-18, IL-62, An-124, Google is your friend.

Ditto for their ship building,

During the Soviet era Soviet merchant fleet was in the top ten. How many countries can make nuclear icebreakers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arktika-class_icebreaker

As for their "robust" nuclear industry: Chernobyl.

And Japan had Fukushima. Still think that "Time on Japan's side"?

tinawatanabe: "Russia is building military facilities in the Northern Territories, isn't it?"

No. Russia is building them on the Kuriles.