Russian Foreign Ministry protested to the Japanese Ambassador in connection with Tokyo’s “territorial claims”

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the Japanese ambassador in Moscow had a strong protest in connection with the “territorial claims” of Tokyo, transfers Interfax.

“On July 26, Japanese Ambassador to Moscow Toyohisa Kozuki was invited to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Igor Morgulov declared to the Japanese side a resolute protest in connection with the unfriendly steps taken by official Tokyo in recent days in the context of Japan’s territorial claims to our country, ”the statement reads.

“We strongly urged our partners not to slide into a destructive line in bilateral relations and to return to the implementation of the leaders’ earlier agreements on taking Russian-Japanese ties to a qualitatively new level through the comprehensive development of trade and economic cooperation, building confidence-building measures in the security sphere, and rapprochement of positions in international affairs. “, – said the Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup Island and made a number of statements on the further development of the Kuriles. The Japanese side asked Russia not to conduct this visit. Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Mori protested to the Russian side over Mishustin’s visit to Iturup.

After World War II, the Kuril Islands are part of the Sakhalin Region of Russia. The ownership of the southern islands of the archipelago – Iturup, Kunashira, Shikotan and the Habomai group – is disputed by Japan, which includes them in the Hokkaido prefecture.