Russia said it is prepared to restore full trade and economic relations with Japan if Tokyo abandons what Moscow describes as an unfriendly policy. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said any reset would have to be demonstrated through concrete Japanese steps rather than declarations alone.
The condition reflects the near-complete freeze in political dialogue between the two countries. Moscow presented policy change in Tokyo as the prerequisite for reopening broader channels of cooperation, leaving the timing and scope of any normalization dependent on Japanese action.
Economic contact has not disappeared despite the political breakdown. Rudenko said Japanese investors continue to hold positions in Far Eastern energy ventures, including the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 oil and gas projects.
Cooperation also remains active in narrower sectors. Fishing and timber were identified as areas where interaction continues, showing that selected commercial ties have survived even as official political engagement has been sharply reduced.
Moscow's position separates existing project-level participation from a full restoration of bilateral economic relations. Japan's continued presence in strategic Far Eastern industries preserves practical links, but Russia is making broader recovery conditional on a policy reversal it considers verifiable.
