Putin Says Northern Territories Are Now Russian, Blames Japan for Stalled Talks
Listen to the story
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the Northern Territories. These are islands near Japan and Russia. Both countries want them.
Putin said the islands are now part of Russia. He said this is a final decision. He spoke during a naval event on Sakhalin island.
Putin said Japan changed its position on the islands. He did not give more details about this.
Japan and Russia do not have a peace treaty. This is an old problem from World War Two. The two countries still talk about it, but there is no agreement.
Putin said talks are slow. He said this is Japan's fault, not Russia's fault.
Putin also talked about NATO. NATO is a group of countries, mostly in the West. He said NATO is moving into Asia. He said this is making a new bloc, or group, of countries.
Putin's words are important for relations between Japan and Russia.
Vocabulary15 words
- Northern Territories
- islands that Japan and Russia both say are theirs
- final
- not going to change; the last one
- naval
- about the navy; ships used for war
- position
- what someone thinks or believes about something
- peace treaty
- a paper that ends a war and makes peace official
- agreement
- when two sides say yes to the same thing
- NATO
- a group of Western countries that help each other in war
- bloc
- a group of countries that work together
- dispute
- a disagreement between two sides
- island
- land with water all around it
- relations
- how two countries work together
- fault
- the reason a bad thing happened; blame
- official
- real and accepted by the government
- region
- an area or part of a country
- military
- about soldiers, ships, or an army
Quiz
Answer key
1. They are now part of Russia 2. At a naval event on Sakhalin 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the _____ Territories. These are islands near Japan and Russia. Both countries want them.
Putin said the islands are now part of Russia. He said this is a _____ decision. He spoke during a _____ event on Sakhalin island.
Putin said Japan changed its _____ on the islands. He did not give more details about this.
Japan and Russia do not have a peace _____. This is an old problem from World War Two.
Putin said talks are slow. He said this is Japan's _____, not Russia's fault.
Putin also talked about _____. He said this group is moving into Asia and making a new _____ of countries.
Putin's words are important for _____ between Japan and Russia.