Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono (Image: REUTERS)
Speaking after talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat warned American military activity was causing increased tension. He said this was one of the significant disagreements between Russian and Japan which stood in the way of settling a decades-old territorial row with a peace deal. Moscow and Tokyo have been in dispute since World War Two over islands captured by Soviet troops in the last days of the war.
I won't hide that we still have significant divergences
Sergey Lavrov
The islands are known as the Southern Kuriles to Russia and the Northern Territories to Japan.
And Mr Lavrov said it would be difficult to expect any progress in peace talks until Japan first agreed to recognise Russian sovereignty over the disputed islands.
He said: "I won't hide that we still have significant divergences.
“To start with the positions were diametrically opposed and we have said this more than once. But the political will of our leaders to fully normalise between Russia and Japan prompts us to activate this dialogue.”
Sergey Lavrov has warned of significant disagreements between Russia and Japan (Image: EPA)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is
