Fishermen repair nets on the shore of the Okhotsk Sea on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 16, 2015. Russian residents of the island chain at the centre of a dispute between Japan and Russia that has held up a treaty to formally end World War Two hope a diplomatic solution will lure tourists and investment to help refurbish rickety infrastructure. The Southern Kuriles are referred to in Japan as the Northern Territories. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A woman hangs up laundry in the centre of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 14, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Boys play football after school in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 14, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





People stand on the deck of the Polaris ferry as it approaches the Southern Kurile island of Iturup September 13, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





The rusty hulk of a ship is seen partly immersed in water off the coast of the Southern Kurile island of Shikotan September 14, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Alexander Kisleiko, director of the Kurile Nature Reserve, poses for a picture on the coast of the Okhotsk Sea on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 16, 2015. Russian residents of the island chain at the centre of a dispute between Japan and Russia that has held up a treaty to formally end World War Two hope a diplomatic solution will lure tourists and investment to help refurbish rickety infrastructure. "The Kuril Islands are a unique territory. There's not a place like it anywhere in the world," he said, suggesting that the best way to preserve its nature was through cooperation with Japan and an international body like UNESCO. "If we manage to merge our natural park with the Shiretoko World Heritage Site (on the Japanese island of Hokkaido) and bring it under the auspices of UNESCO, then no one will be able to build any industry here, and we'll be able to preserve the nature here." The Southern Kuriles are referred to in Japan as the Northern Territories. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A stray dog walks near a recently completed Orthodox church in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 17, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Seagulls circle over an abandoned country house on the coast of the Okhotsk Sea outside Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 16, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Director of the House of Russian-Japanese Friendship, Alexander Vygovsky, poses for a picture on a street in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 15, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Tourists walk past the volcanic rock formation of Cape Stolbchaty at the coast of the Okhotsk Sea outside Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 16, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A woman pushes a child on a tricycle at sunset in the centre of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 15, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Rusty scrap metal and a derelict car are seen piled up in the centre of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 15, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Cows sit in the evening sun on a beach outside Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 14, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A pig stands in the evening light on the beach to eat seaweed in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 14, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A woman applies lipstick in a car that is parked at a beach facing a volcanic rock called Devil's Finger outside Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 15, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)