MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - It is wrong to speculate on how the constitutional amendment declaring the inadmissibility of alienation of Russian territories may affect peace treaty talks with Japan without mentioning the efforts taken by Japan in this area, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Friday.
"It's completely wrong to speak about the impact of this amendment. The pending constitutional amendments will have implications. They will influence every sphere of our lives. [...] That's for starters. So, it's wrong to discuss the amendments and the existence or non-existence of their implications just yet. I don't think this falls in line with the legal aspects of the issue. After the changes are made, we will discuss them as existing law, existing fundamental law," Zakharova said.
In the context of talks with Japan, debate is to whether the pending amendments will affect the talks, she said.
"I also have a question: why should we formulate the question as if something which will happen in the future will have an impact on negotiations that have been going on for years?" Zakharova said.
Russian-Japanese talks intensified and reached a new level two years ago, she said.
"Why would we think about the future when we are living in the present? [...] I think the question could be directed to Japan, Japanese diplomats, politicians, and statesmen. What has been done over the years, especially over the past two [years], to implement the plans? Because, in that case, we shouldn't be thinking about the future. We should analyze the global approach, the strategic approach, and see how it's being brought to life by Japan," Zakharova said.
Zakharova asked a Japanese journalist "what Japan has done in regard to the Japanese Constitution in the context of negotiations with Moscow. [...] Nothing!"
"I don't think we should be wondering how the negotiations could be affected by possible amendments to the Russian Constitution, considering that Japan hasn't taken any measures, which seemed to be necessary and logical, over the years in order to show that it really wants to make headway in this area," Zakharova said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin supports the constitutional amendment declaring the inadmissibility of alienation of Russian territories but has said that the wording must be appropriate in order to prevent hindrance of the border demarcation process.
The State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation supported the presidential constitutional amendment declaring the inadmissibility of alienation of Russian territories and such appeals on March 3, in view of the second reading of the bill.
In the opinion of committee member and Liberal-Democratic Party deputy Sergei Ivanov, the amendment does not rule out the transfer of some Russian territories to neighboring states.