Kazutoshi Aikawa, the ambassador of Japan in Tehran, met with Dr. Seyed Kamal Kharrazi, The President of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, this morning. The two sides discussed regional and international issues and the latest state of relations between the two countries.

In this meeting, Dr. Kharrazi referring to the important developments in the Far East region and the effects of the Ukrainian war on the region, said: the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations is monitoring, with great sensitivity, the increase of military and defense mobility of regional and extra-regional countries in the surrounding area of ​​Japan and the possibility of military conflicts in the future.

In response to Dr. Kharrazi’s statements, the Japanese ambassador explained his country’s position on the Ukraine war and the possible consequences of this crisis for Japan and its surrounding environment and pointed to the territorial dispute between his country and Russia, saying that: “With the start of the Ukraine war, Russia stopped its negotiations with Japan regarding the occupied Kuril Islands.”

In response, Dr. Kharrazi stated: The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a matter of principle, is against any military intervention and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, and in my opinion, the best way to resolve the territorial disputes between Japan and Russia over the four islands is direct negotiations between the two countries.

It should be noted that Russia annexed the Kuril Islands to its territory after the Second World War. Still, Japan calls these islands the Northern Territory and considers them as Islands “occupied by Russia.”

In the meanwhile, Dr. Kharrazi highlighted the importance of enhancing the Iran-Japan bilateral relations and pointed out that the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA agreement and the imposition of the secondary sanctions on other nations are the key obstacles in our relations, and said: “Despite the problems caused by secondary sanctions, there are clear opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.”