Putin makes first visit to Kuril Islands, drawing a formal protest from Japan
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of the southernmost islands in the Kuril chain, on Thursday — his first visit to the disputed Pacific archipelago. Japan, which claims the four southernmost Kuril islands as its "Northern Territories," issued a formal protest through Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who called the islands "Japan's inherent territory both historically and from the perspective of international law."
Putin's visit to Iturup included stops at a fish plant, a hospital, and a school, as well as a brief meeting with local residents and a session with Sakhalin region Governor Valery Limarenko, according to the Associated Press. The trip came at the end of a broader tour of Russia's Siberia and Far East, during which Putin also attended naval exercises by Russia's Pacific Fleet aboard a warship off Sakhalin Island.
The Kuril Islands dispute has its origins in the final days of World War II, when the Soviet Union seized the four southernmost islands from Japan. The unresolved territorial disagreement has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty ending their wartime hostilities, and decades of diplomatic efforts have produced no visible settlement, the AP reported.
Speaking aboard the warship on Wednesday, Putin said the current status of the Kuril Islands "is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of World War II," according to the AP. He also said that Russia had previously "developed constructive relations" with several Japanese leaders, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and that Moscow had been prepared to seek a peace treaty solution. Putin attributed a change in Japan's posture to the sanctions Tokyo imposed on Russia following Russia's February 2022 military action in Ukraine, while adding that Russia remains ready "to cooperate with all its neighbors, including Japan."