OREANDA-NEWS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan doesn't intend to comment on the information that appeared in the Japanese media that Moscow allegedly refused to discuss with Tokyo the possibility of transferring two of the four islands of the southern part of the Kuriles to the Japanese side in the framework of negotiations on a peace treaty. This was reported on Thursday to the Russian media in the press service of the Ministry.

"We refrain from answering questions regarding the content of the negotiations, as well as our position on them, so as not to have a negative impact on the negotiation process", the Foreign Ministry said in response to a request to comment on the information of the Japanese news agency, which earlier with reference to diplomatic sources reported that the Russian Federation won't discuss with Japan the question of the transfer of the two islands.

According to the agency, one of the reasons for this was the Russian side’s concerns about the Japanese-American military alliance. The refusal was also caused by concerns that a possible compromise with Japan on the territorial issue could have a negative impact on the level of support for the authorities from the Russian population, the news agency notes.

Earlier, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, said that the media message was not true. “We are negotiating with the Japanese side to negotiate a peace treaty on an appropriate platform. Everything else is a notion, an artistic retelling. I can’t confirm what’s not”, Zakharova stressed.

Last November, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting in Singapore agreed to step up negotiations on a peace treaty based on the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of October 19, 1956.