L"AQUILA (Italy), July 9 (RIA Novosti) -...

The Japanese parliament recognized the four southern islands of the Kuril chain as "historical" Japanese territory on July 3. Russia"s upper house of parliament retaliated on Tuesday by asking the president to consider ending the visa-free system between Japan and the islands, which has been in force since 1992.

"The Russian president pointed out that such acts do not create the necessary atmosphere for well-intentioned and sincere dialogue," Sergei Prikhodko said, adding that Medvedev had however expressed his readiness to continue discussions.

Prikhodko also said that it was impossible to set an exact timeframe for the resolution of the issue as any agreement must equally satisfy both nations.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said earlier on Thursday that Japan"s unsubstantiated territorial claims to Russia could complicate regional contacts.

He said the Japanese move produced a sharply negative reaction in Russian society and called

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