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which, in our view, bear principal importance& .
conclusion of the peace treaty between the USSR and
Japan.
[Rogachev then expatiates on the following issues: the
It is impossible not to mention as well that the
Yalta agreement, the San Francisco peace treaty, the
208 COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 10
expression territorial issue is not present in any of the time Japan used these islands as bases for aggression,
subsequent Soviet-Japanese documents. including for the attack by a [naval] aviation formation on
Afterwards, however, Japan did not make use of any Pearl Harbor and attacks on peaceful Soviet vessels. For
of the available opportunities and refused to conclude a this reason, the confiscation of these islands from Japan
peace treaty on the terms of the 1956 Declaration, having after the war cannot be seen as a territorial expansion on
put forward additional territorial claims toward the USSR. the part of the victor, but should be seen as a measure
Moreover, the Japanese government began to conduct a taken in order to halt and punish Japan s aggression, that
policy toward the Soviet Union which contradicted the is, in keeping with the principle of responsibility for
spirit of the Joint Declaration and the peaceful intentions aggression as was voiced in the very same Cairo declara-
expressed in the course of the negotiations on the normal- tion.
ization of Soviet-Japanese relations. The conclusion of the We have already explained our assessment of the
Japanese-American security treaty in 1960, directed environment in which the neutrality pact between the
essentially against the Soviet Union, changed the situation USSR and Japan was annulled. It is incontrovertible that
and confronted our country with the necessity of taking responsibility for the outbreak of World War Two belongs
appropriate steps to defend its interests. to Hitlerist fascism together with Japanese militarism.
As is known, the law on international treaties (art. 44 Germany s attack on the Soviet Union and Japan s on the
of the Vienna convention on the law on international United States, as well as subsequent events, fundamentally
treaties of 1969) permits a unilateral refusal to observe a changed the environment in which the neutrality pact
part of a treaty in case the treaty is violated by the other between the USSR and Japan was made. The Soviet
side or the situation fundamentally changes. Union s entrance into the war against Japan at the request
Now for several words on the character of the of the Allies was a logical consequence of these changes
Japanese-American Treaty on mutual cooperation and and was dictated by the interests of ridding [all] peoples,
security guarantees. Today, you, Mr. Kuriyama, tried to including Japan s, of death and suffering, [and of] restor-
convince us that it has an exclusively defensive charac- ing the foundations of peace throughout the whole world.
ter& . In your statement, you again refer to the Soviet-
Japanese statement of 1973, in which unresolved issues are
[A short disquisition on the Japanese-American Treaty mentioned. I want once again to repeat that, as we have
follows.] said more than once, the Japanese side is committing a
one-sided, false interpretation of the sense of the formulas
It must be said that the destabilizing influence of the contained therein.
Treaty on the situation in this part of the world continues On that, permit me to finish my short statement.
up until now and even into the future. The fact is that in Kuriyama. Today at the meetings of the working
keeping with the Treaty, more than 120 US military bases group on the peace treaty, the Soviet side in a comprehen-
and establishments are located on Japanese territory, sive and detailed manner made an exposition of its
including means for delivering offensive nuclear weapons. position on each concrete aspect of the territorial issue
We have in mind, in particular, F-16 fighter-bombers at the which was raised by the Japanese side. I think that in the
Misawa base, the cruiser Bunker Hill and the destroyer course of the negotiations which have taken place up until
Fife, which are equipped with Tomahawk cruise now, the Soviet side has never before given such a detailed
missiles [and are] assigned to the port of Yokosuka. These exposition of its views. I express my sincere recognition
are all realities which cannot be ignored. for the comprehensive elucidation. At the same time I
I want once again to say that we recognize the right of express a feeling of respect for the fact that the Soviet side
each country to individual and collective self-defense, but in the process of preparation undertook very detailed
we cannot but assess the Japanese-American Security research and study of the territorial issue in clarifying its
Treaty as a military alliance having in addition an anti- position. I have materials on the table which have been
Soviet direction& . prepared by my colleagues, which contain many points
elucidating our position on the points you have put
[A presentation on the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905, its forward. However, insofar as today the Soviet side
precedents and results, follows.] presented us with new arguments, I consider it expedient
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