MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called on his Japanese counterparts not to over-politicize the discussion of the Kuril Islands' sovereignty.
"Our Japanese partners sometimes make statements that describe our presence on these territories as something incompatible with historic facts and legal aspects. We cannot accept such approaches. We want to talk calmly without unilateral interpretation of history and without politicization," Lavrov said in an interview with the radio stations Echo Moskvy, the Voice of Russia and Radio Rossii on Friday.
"This conversation should be maintained on the basis of principles that were agreed upon earlier," he said.
"It should be maintained on a mutually respectful basis, taking into account all historic and legal realities that exist now, and certainly recognizing the outcomes of WWII as an absolutely inseparable component of this dialogue," Lavrov said.
In discussing the issue of the Kuril Islands, Russia and Japan should refrain from emotional approaches, he said.