A. KOSHKIN

Doctor of Historical Sciences, expert at the Center for Strategic Research

Held in July 2008 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido in a picturesque area near Lake Toyako, the next meeting of the leaders of the world's leading powers was devoted to global problems of climate change, the worsening situation in the field of energy and food, and increasing assistance to African countries. However, even at the preparatory stage, the attention of the Russian mass media and the public was drawn to the attempts of the Japanese right-wing forces to use the summit to create a stir around the so-called "problem of the northern territories", as this country calls the claims to the islands of the southern part of the Kuril Ridge that are part of the Russian state. These attempts were illegitimate, because the G8 meeting in Hokkaido was by no means a Japanese, but an international forum, for which Tokyo, in accordance with the order of priority, only provided its territory.

The undisguised desire to "internationalize" territorial claims against Russia, the publication of maps and booklets that violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia for distribution at the summit, and the calls of right-wing media to almost include the "territorial issue" in the agenda of the G8 meetings were unfriendly, frankly, provocative, which caused a legitimate reaction from the Russian authorities. The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was instructed to state: "The Russian Foreign Ministry drew attention to the attempts of the Japanese side, which began a few weeks ago, using the G8 summit in Hokkaido, to draw additional attention of the international community to the Japanese-Russian territorial issues. Moreover, in the relevant publications, this problem is presented in a biased one-sided interpretation... The principled position of the Russian Federation is that the southern Kuril Islands became part of our country as a result of World War II, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has the appropriate international legal form, is beyond doubt. At the same time, we recognize that there is an objective issue of border demarcation in Russian-Japanese relations. We are ready to continue the patient and calm search for a solution that should be mutually acceptable to the peoples of Russia and Japan."1. During Dmitry Medvedev's meeting with representatives of the G8 media, the Russian president, in his diplomatic, conciliatory tone, said that Russia and Japan have a chance to agree on the territorial issue, provided that the parties continue an active dialogue on this topic. "We do have one topic on which we have not yet been able to agree - the border issue and the conclusion of a corresponding agreement related to it," the president said. - I think that, first of all, we should not dramatize this situation. We must move forward, discuss this topic in accordance with the declarations that were made earlier, we should not

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try to achieve maximum results in a short period of time, because they are most likely impossible, but we must openly discuss both the ideas that already exist and those that are being formed. We are ready to continue the dialogue on all these issues, bearing in mind, of course,the legal framework that currently exists. " 2
Dmitry Medvedev explained Russia's position in the same spirit during his bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda outside the summit. It is noteworthy that in recent years the official statements of both sides have expressed their intention to seek a "mutually acceptable solution" to the territorial problem. As you know, this wording is also reflected in the text of the recently published updated "Concept of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation", which states:: "The Russian Federation stands for good-neighborly relations and constructive partnership with Japan in the interests of the peoples of both countries. Problems inherited from the past, which will continue to be solved in a visibly acceptable way, should not become an obstacle on this path. " 3
In order to understand what meaning each of the parties puts in the concept of "mutually acceptable solution" and whether it is possible to reach a compromise on such a complex problem, both in political and psychological terms, it is necessary, in our opinion, to turn to the not so long history of discussing it at the level of the leaders of the two countries.

VLADIMIR PUTIN'S PROBE

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