"We have our own opinion regarding this: first of all, we are staying away because we believe that interference of any non-regional power in the dispute will be bad for the settlement of this problem," the Russian president told a news conference devoted the G20 decisions.
Comment: Sending a jab at the US no doubt: Pepe Escobar: U.S. 'spoiling for a fight' as Beijing & Manila discuss South China Sea
At the same time, Putin expressed solidarity with China.
"We are solidarizing with and supporting China's stance on the problem - the non-recognition of the court ruling (the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague".
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that China and Russia have reached a very high degree of trust and cooperation.
Kuril islands dispute
Answering a question on Russia's Kuril islands disputed by Japan, Putin used the example of Russian-Chinese trust in settling their territorial issues. Japan and Russia have never signed a permanent peace treaty after World War II due to a disagreement over four islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories. The disputed islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, were claimed by Soviet forces at the end of the war.
Comment: Reclaiming the Pacific: Russia plans naval base alongside state-of-the-art missile systems on Kuril Islands