Japan still considers resolution of its decades-long territorial dispute with Russia a precondition for signing a peace treaty, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Wednesday, eliminating the possibility of compromise.
"There is no discussion within the government (on the possibility of forging a compromise). We're making every possible effort in line with our consistent stance to seek a peace treaty (by the end of this year) based on the solution of the territorial issue," Mori told a news conference here.
Mori apparently made the remarks in response to recent media reports that the Japanese government is considering a compromise proposal that would involve the signing some kind of treaty this year but leave the territorial dispute for another day.
Japan and Russia agreed in 1997 to strive toward resolving the dispute and signing a peace treaty by 2000, but negotiations have stalled.
About possible rice aid to North Korea, he said, "We have yet to decide on such aid."