北方領土問題「終わった」　日本と交渉せず―ロシア外相

　ロシアのラブロフ外相は１８日の政府系テレビ「第１チャンネル」のインタビューで、日本を含めたあらゆる国と「もはや領土紛争を抱えていない」と表明した。北方領土問題は「終わっている」と語り、今後交渉の対象にはならないとの考えを示した。
　公表された会見録によると、ラブロフ氏は、バイデン米大統領が最近、ロシアがウクライナに続いて北大西洋条約機構（ＮＡＴＯ）加盟国を攻撃する恐れがあると発言したことに反論。「ＮＡＴＯと領土紛争はない」と主張し、その流れで日本にも言及した。（2023/12/19-06:03）

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that his country has no territorial disputes with other countries including Japan, indicating that Moscow will not engage in negotiations over the so-called Northern Territories.
   Lavrov made the remark in an interview Monday on Channel 1, a Kremlin-backed television channel. According to the published transcript of the interview, the minister mentioned Japan after claiming that Russia has no territorial dispute with NATO, in rebuttal to U.S. President Joe Biden's recent remark that Russia may attack a member of the military alliance as it did Ukraine.
   The Northern Territories are the four Russia-held northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan. Lavrov said that the issue regarding the islands is a done deal.
   Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday filed his candidacy in the presidential election slated for March next year. With a fifth term all but in the bag, Putin's administration is likely to maintain the position that territorial issues have been resolved even if there is an opportunity for dialogue with Japan.
   The 2020 Russian constitutional amendment, which made term limits a dead letter, also included a clause banning the ceding of territory in principle.