Russia summons Japans ambassador after Putin visits disputed Kuril Islands: diplomatic row escalates
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Russia summons Japans ambassador after Putin visits disputed Kuril Islands: diplomatic row escalates
Putin visits disputed Iturup Island, prompting Japan to weigh sanctions and summon Russian envoy
Putin visits disputed Kuril Islands for first time, drawing sharp Japanese protest
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Japan’s ambassador to Moscow, Akira Muto, had repeatedly delayed responding to a summons over a diplomatic dispute triggered by President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, according to state news agency TASS .
Lavrov told reporters that the Japanese Embassy initially claimed Muto could not attend on Friday or Monday, citing either his absence from Moscow or a health issue. “We did not quite understand the situation,” Lavrov said. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later stated that Muto had “suddenly started feeling better” and would appear at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday .
The dispute began after Putin visited Iturup, the largest of the four southern Kuril Islands, on Thursday. Japan, which refers to the islands as the Northern Territories, summoned Russia’s ambassador in Tokyo, Nikolay Nozdrev, to protest. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the visit “absolutely unacceptable” and said it “hurts the public sentiment of the Japanese people” .
Lavrov criticized Japan’s reaction, stating that Tokyo had “crossed the line of decency” by claiming Putin could not visit “a part of the territory of the Russian Federation.” He added that the summons was intended to address “the conduct of the Japanese leadership” and how ambassadors “should conduct themselves in the host country” .
The Kremlin said Putin met with residents of Iturup, which has a population of approximately 7,000, and urged them not to forget those who died in the September 1945 operation, the last major battle of the Red Army in World War II .
Japan maintains that the four islands—Etorofu (Iturup), Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai islet group—were illegally seized by the Soviet Union after Japan announced its intention to surrender in 1945. Russia argues the seizure was legitimate. The territorial row has prevented the two countries from concluding a postwar peace treaty .
Lavrov also expressed frustration that the Japanese Embassy had recently invited a delegation of Japanese businesspeople without informing Russian authorities .
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KYIV POST: Russia Summons Japanese Ambassador After Tokyo Protests Putins Kuril Islands Visit Russia summoned Japans ambassador after Tokyo protested President Vladimir Putins visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, escalating an already bitter territorial row. #World #Asia #Europe
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