On Sep 1, Putin said he was "not surprised" by Tokyo's protest over his Aug. 13
landing on the southern Kuril Islands (Japan's Northern Territories) and blamed
Japan entirely for the worsening of bilateral relations. He said signing a peace
treaty is a complex issue, that Russia had been willing to discuss and had given
positive responses on many points, but Japan's actions made relations worse and
were "100% Japan's fault." Tokyo summoned the Russian ambassador after the Aug.
13 landing; the Russian embassy said a president's itinerary in his own country
"is not subject to foreign interference."
