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2009/05/12
Ozawa, Putin agree on need to resolve Northern Territories issue while deepening friendly relations
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On May 12, outgoing DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa met with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin at a Tokyo hotel. The two agreed on the need to deepen friendly bilateral relations while at the same time working to resolve the Northern Territories issue. The meeting was also attended by Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and Director General of the Executive Office Tenzo Okumura for the DPJ.
During the meeting, Ozawa commented of the Northern Territories issue, “I believe this is an issue that it will be difficult to resolve unless it is under a person with strong leadership ability such as you, Prime Minister.” He went on to express the hope that it would be possible to deepen friendly bilateral relations through meetings such as the one they were participating in.
Putin replied that he was of precisely the same opinion, and said, “I believe that both sides must persevere, respect each other, and work to unravel each knot one by one.” He expressed the view that it was important to create a good environment in order to deepen mutual understanding, and said that enemies would not be able to resolve the problems involved. He added, “It is friends who are able to find a resolution. We need to find a way to resolve this problem and explain it to the people thoroughly and calmly.”
In response, Ozawa said, “If we have a friendly relationship and can trust each other, we can also resolve the Northern Territories issue…Particularly with regard to the Russian Far East, I think that Japan is not simply the recipient of resources, but is contributing to the development of your country, and playing an important role in improving living conditions and enhancing the environment. I believe that we should continue with such programs while working to resolve the Northern Territories issue.” Putin said that he “totally agreed” with this sentiment.
Ozawa mentioned the registration of Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido as a World Heritage Site as one example of how friendly bilateral relations might be constructed, saying, “Some say that it would be a good idea to register all four islands in the Northern Territories as a World Heritage Site. There are many different ideas, but I think that we should start by cooperating in those areas where it is possible.” Putin replied that it would certainly be beneficial to consider ideas such as these seriously.
The two sides also discussed the possibility of a visit to Russia by Ozawa, and developing inter-party exchanges, and the meeting ended in a convivial atmosphere.
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