Koizumi was responding to President Vladimir Putin's remarks Nov. 15 hinting that Moscow is ready to return two of the four islands based on a joint declaration signed by the two nations in 1956.

"As we said in the 1993 Tokyo Declaration, it is a common principle for Japan and Russia to conclude a peace treaty after the sovereignty issue of the four islands is resolved," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

Putin is scheduled to visit Tokyo in February in hopes of resolving the long-standing territorial dispute over the islands of Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu and the Habomai islets that were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 27, 2004
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