Mr. Putin answered an interview about the peace treaty with Japan and Russia-US relations.

Ahead of his upcoming visit to Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Japanese television station "Nippon" and newspaper "Yomiuri" and spoke about the prospects of concluding a peace treaty, as well as the issue of developing relations between Moscow and Tokyo.

Mr. Putin also answered questions about the Kuril Islands, about Moscow's stance on Russia-US relations and talked about his own work.

During the interviews, Japanese journalists mainly asked about international and bilateral agendas, but also touched on domestic issues.

Relations between Russia and Japan have been overshadowed for many years by the fact that the two countries have not signed a peace treaty. Japan claims sovereignty over the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, citing the 1855 Bilateral Border and Commerce Treaty. Tokyo wants to make the return of the islands a condition for concluding a peace treaty with Russia, which was not signed at the end of World War II. Moscow's position that the southern Kuril Islands became part of the Soviet Union after World War II and that Russia's sovereignty over the islands has been properly registered under international law is beyond doubt.

"We want to fully normalize relations with Japan, the lack of a peace treaty is a relic of the past, and this anachronism must be eliminated," — said Mr. Putin.

According to Mr. Putin, Russia does not have a territorial dispute with Japan, that is because Japan believes they have a dispute, but Moscow is ready to discuss those issues.

One of the conditions for creating trust and preparing for the conclusion of a peace treaty with Japan will be joint economic activity, including on the Southern Kuril Islands, Putin said.

"The basis of trust should be our agreement on preparing and creating conditions for concluding a peace treaty. This can be achieved, for example, in the results of large-scale joint economic activity, including on the South Kuril Islands," - the Russian President said.

According to the Russian President, the lack of a peace treaty with Japan does not allow the development of multilateral relations between the two countries, so Russia will make efforts to sign this treaty. Mr. Putin emphasized that during his visit to Yamaguchi Prefecture - the hometown of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - he hopes that the two sides will reach a mutual understanding to resolve this issue.

"In the world, in the Far East, we are obviously partners, but the lack of a peace treaty prevents us from developing rich and comprehensive relations between our countries. So, of course, we would like to sign this treaty, we would like to fully normalize relations…" - Mr. Putin said in an interview with Japanese media, the content of which was posted on the Kremlin's website.

The Russian President noted that Tokyo has joined the sanctions against the Russian Federation and asked how economic relations between the two countries will develop at a further level in the presence of the sanctions regime.

“Since all our agreements are part of the complex, since they are implemented within the framework of alliance obligations undertaken by Japan, since the degree of independence of these decisions is very large, we need to understand what we can expect, what will ultimately be possible,” — the head of the Russian state said.

The interview touched on the possibility of normalizing relations between Russia and the United States, especially in light of the election of US President Donald Trump. The question of a possible meeting between Putin and Trump has been raised many times in various formats. And the interview with the Japanese media was no exception.

The Russian President expressed his readiness to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump at any time, but noted that it would be more appropriate for him to wait until Trump forms his cabinet and takes office.

"We are ready at any time, there are no problems on our part, but I think that now is a difficult period of forming a new government, we need to be patient and wait until it is done," — Mr. Putin said.

He noted that newly elected US President Trump supports the normalization of Russian-American relations, and stressed that it is the desire of both sides and Russia is ready to do so. "We are aware that over the years there have been many people who were skeptical or cautious about the development of Russian-American relations, but the deep and fundamental interests of Russia and the United States require the normalization of relations between the two countries," Putin said.

According to the head of state, Russia and the United States have many areas where they can cooperate. In particular, Moscow and Washington can achieve a lot in mediating regional conflicts, the Russian leader said.

During the interview, Japanese journalists, knowing that the Russian leader is fond of judo, asked whether he planned to visit the world's leading judo organization "Kodokan" during his visit to Japan. President Putin said that he would be happy to do so, if time permits, and said that sport is a huge part of his life.

Putin's visit to Japan will begin on December 15. During his previous visit to Japan, Putin visited the judo gym of the "Kodokan" institute.

For those who love judo, "Kodokan" has a special place. "Kodokan" is a place where many outstanding judo masters were trained, and to a certain extent, for judo athletes, it is a Mecca. Of course, if I have time, I will be very happy to visit," - Mr. Putin said.

The President said that Judo makes one respect one's partners, towards elders, as well as towards coaches, is good energy in relations with people in other areas, not only in sports.

"I am very happy that fate brought me to this wonderful sport from an early age. It was like my first love. I also like other sports such as alpine skiing, swimming, and now I play ice hockey. But judo is definitely a part of my life, a very big part, and I am very pleased that this is the sport I practiced first, practiced regularly and seriously. I think I am also very grateful to Japan for this," said the Russian leader.

According to Sputnik