OREANDA-NEWS  For the first time since 1964, China has changed its position on the issue of belonging to the southern part of the Kuril Islands, taking neutrality. This is reported by TASS with reference to the Kyodo news agency, citing sources in China.

59 years ago, former Chinese President Mao Zedong expressed support for Japan on the issue of Smoking, but since then China has not raised this topic. However, according to Kyodo, the current Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, indicated that Beijing "will not take the position of any of the parties."

The agency suggests that this indicates a change in the Chinese position in favor of Moscow. According to the authors of Kyodo, a change in China's position "will strengthen Russia's confidence and further complicate negotiations" on a peace treaty with Japan.

Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating since the middle of the last century to sign a peace agreement following the Second World War. The main obstacle is the disagreement over the rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands. Japan disputes that Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of small uninhabited islands belong to Russia.