Moscow Pushes Back Against Tokyo After Putin’s Visit to the Kuril Islands: Russian Sovereignty Is Indisputable

President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Kuril Islands has sparked a fresh dispute between Russia and Japan. Moscow dismissed Tokyo’s objections as “unfounded” and accused the Japanese side of “revisionism.”

Putin traveled to the Kuril Islands in Russia’s Far East on Monday. It was the first time the Russian president had visited the archipelago, while Tokyo immediately responded by describing the visit as “absolutely unacceptable.”

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Moscow categorically rejected Japan’s criticism, which she described as “politically irrelevant, offensive and, of course, legally unfounded.”

Zakharova argued that the Kuril Islands came under Russian control at the end of World War II, in accordance with agreements reached with the Allied powers and the United Nations Charter. She stressed that “Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over these islands are not in question.”

According to the Russian spokeswoman, Tokyo is pursuing an “anti-Russian policy bordering on hostility.” She also criticized the Japanese leadership for what she considered an attempt to dictate to Moscow which parts of the country the Russian president may visit.

“Nearly 81 years after Japan signed the act of unconditional surrender in September 1945, Tokyo is once again fixated on revisionist rhetoric,” Zakharova said. She claimed that Japan was seeking to downplay its aggression in Asia while making claims against Russia.

In her response, the Russian diplomatic representative also criticized Japan’s support for Ukraine, as well as the sanctions imposed on Moscow following the start of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.

Japan claims sovereignty over four islands in the south of the archipelago. The Soviet army seized them in 1945, during the final days of World War II, and the territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo has remained unresolved for decades.