Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Japan's security alliance with the United States continues to pose a threat, suggesting it remains a stumbling block to the signing of a postwar peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow.
Putin said at an annual year-end news conference that a solution has yet to be found, reiterating concerns that the United States is seeking to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Japan following the expiration of an arms control treaty earlier this year.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by the United States and Russia in 1987, had banned land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.