Vladimir Putin Quotes

The absence of a peace treaty [with Japan] is an anachronism we inherited from the past and it must be removed. However, how to do this is a complicated issue.

Various channels of dialogue must be kept open to build trust. I will meet North Korea's leader if it is needed to develop relations between the two Koreas.

There shall henceforth be peace and amity between their Majesties the Emperor of Japan and the Emperor of all the Russias, and between their respective States and subjects.

At the request of my Japanese colleagues, in 2000 we revisited the possibility of signing a peace treaty based on the 1956 agreement.

In 2000 the then Prime Minister of Japan [Yoshirō Mori] asked me to return to this process, this conversation, these talks, and to do so, incidentally, on the basis of the 1956 declaration. I agreed. Since then we have conducted dialogue in this regard but I cannot say that our Japanese partners and friends have remained within the limits of the 1956 declaration.

President Trump also mentioned that under the right conditions, he is willing to engage in dialogue with North Korea.

We conducted talks on border issues with our friends in the People's Republic of China for 40 years. There were also issues related to specific territories.

I wish that in the course of my visit to places the Prime Minister [Shindzo Abe] calls home, all of a sudden, we would reach a clear understanding on how we can resolve the matters. We will be very glad if that happens. Are there any chances? Perhaps.

Some years ago our Japanese counterparts asked us to resume the discussions of the issue and so we did meeting them halfway. Over the passed couple of years the contacts were practically frozen on the initiative of the Japanese side, not ours. At the same time, presently our partners have expressed their eagerness to resume discussions on this issue [the Kuril Islands].

I don't think it is so difficult to solve the problems between Cuba and the United States; it all depends on whether there is a dialogue, a discussion, or if the prejudices and hatred of people like the extremists and terrorists from the Cuban community, who try to impose their policies, prevail.

We have been the one who all along have been saying that a dialogue must be initiated with Pakistan.

I went to Pakistan; I engaged in peace. If a hand extended is not shaken, what are you supposed to do?

It was very much exaggerated, this information campaign, this sustained campaign against us. But if I may... Over the process of years, it will thaw out. I mean, just gradually through contact, through dialogue, through investment.

Japan is prepared to break the shell of mutual distrust with North Korea and get off to a new start.

I believe in diplomacy; I don't believe in talking to... that talking to Iran somehow constitutes a concession or a favour.

We don't have to kind of be in cycles of conflict if we can find other ways to resolve these issues. We can do things that challenge the conventional thinking that, you know, 'AIPAC doesn't like this,' or 'the Israeli government doesn't like this,' or 'the Gulf countries don't like it.' It's the possibility of improved relations with adversaries.

I think Putin will have to find a way to signal, even if it's a modest signal, an openness to dialogue.

Citizens of Ukraine will never enjoy the beauty of peace unless we settle down our relations with Russia.

Talking and diplomacy is often seen as a concession in America, in a way that it is not in other places.

For many Americans, 'Vietnam' is a word associated with war and the extraordinarily complex history between our countries. But since normalization began, the U.S. and Vietnam have steadily built bonds of partnership, demonstrating that we can recognize history without being imprisoned by it.

There is always a chance [for negotiations with Japan], or else it makes no sense to talk. How great is it? Right now, it is difficult for me to say, because this will depend, among other things, on the flexibility of our partners.

There is no question about the fact that we had very serious disagreements with my German, French, and Russian colleagues over the Iraq war. But I never stopped talking.

Everybody's still talking about diplomacy and I'm very hopeful that as long as we talk about diplomacy, as long as we're not talking about enforcement measures, sanctions, et cetera, we are on the right track. But we need to accelerate the process.

When we're trying to solve difficult national issues its sometimes necessary to talk to adversaries as well as friends. Historians have a word for this: diplomacy.

It is 60 years since the restoration of diplomatic relations, but relations between Japan and Russia have much deeper roots. In all, our diplomatic ties date back 150 years, more than 150 years now.