Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he summoned Japan’s envoy following Tokyo’s protest of President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to one of four Russian-controlled islands. Japan claims the islands.
Lavrov told reporters on Monday that Japan had made completely unacceptable statements by saying that the Russian president cannot visit Russian territory.
The islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan. The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan’s territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.
On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae emphasized that the islands are an inherent territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based on international law. She noted that Putin’s visit is incompatible with the Japanese government’s consistent position on the islands. Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to lodge a protest.
Lavrov said Japan has not yet responded to his summons. But Japanese diplomatic sources told NHK that Ambassador Muto Akira will respond on Tuesday.
According to the sources, Japan initially did not respond out of concern that Russia would unilaterally dominate the discussions, making a balanced exchange difficult. However, Tokyo decided to reply to the summons after internal deliberations.