Russian PresidentVladimir Putinvisited the far-eastern Kuril islands for the primary time on Thursday, prompting a “strong” protest byJapan, which additionally claims the territory.
Russian-Japanese relations have lengthy been dogged by tensions over the contested islands, identified in Japan because the Northern Territories and seized by theSoviet Unionin 1945.
The Kremlin posted a video of Putin within the Kuril Islands, with Russian media saying he visited a fish-processing plant the place he was given caviar.
Putin travelled to the Kurils after visiting the close by Russian island of Sakhalin, the place Russia’s navy was conducting drills.
In Sakhalin, Putin held a gathering “on ensuring the security of Russia’s eastern borders”, RIA Novosti mentioned.
Japan, whose ties with Russia have worsened additional because the full-scale invasion ofUkrainein 2022 simply as Moscow’s relations with China and North Korea have warmed objected strongly.
“The Northern Territories… are an inherent part of Japan’s territory both historically and under international law, and the government of Japan strongly protests this visit,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi mentioned in an announcement.
The Soviet Union took the strategically positioned volcanic archipelago north of Hokkaido within the remaining days ofWorld War II, and has maintained a navy presence there ever since.
In 2010 then presidentDmitry Medvedevbecame the primary Russian chief to go to the disputed territory. Medvedev additionally went there a number of instances subsequently as prime minister.
Harsh local weather, few individuals
The 4 contested isles are a part of the volcanic Kuril archipelago, which runs in a broad arc from Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula all the way down to Japan’s predominant northern island Hokkaido.
The Soviet Union solely declared struggle on Japan on August 8, 1945, after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and 6 days earlier than the top of the battle.
The islands’ names are comparable in each nations Kunashir, Habomai, Shikotan and Iturup in Russian, whereas in Japanese they’re often known as Kunashiri, Habomai, Shikotan and Etorofu.
Their inhabitants of about 20,000 Russian residents lives in a harsh local weather, however the islands have mineral deposits together with gold and silver, and wealthy fishing grounds.
After the islands had been occupied in 1945, Moscow deported their Japanese inhabitants of about 17,000 individuals.
Thereafter the islands acquired strategic significance, offering air and sea bases throughout theCold Waras the Soviet Union confronted the United States and its closest ally within the Pacific, Japan.
On a number of events it appeared that off-and-on talks between Tokyo and Moscow had been making progress and in 1956, when diplomatic relations had been established, Soviet chief Nikita Khrushchev advised two of the disputed islands may be returned underneath a peace treaty.
Although the talks resumed after the autumn of the Soviet Union in 1991, no progress has been made.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally revealed on France24