Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova on the ministry website on the
13th rejected comments by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi and Foreign Minister
Motegi protesting President Putin’s landing on Iturup Island (Japan: Etorofu).
She called their remarks politically meaningless, “insulting” and legally
ineffective, citing WWII outcomes, allied agreements and the UN Charter to
assert the Southern Kurils (Japan: Northern Territories/Northern Four Islands)
belong to Russia and that Iturup is part of Russia’s “indivisible territory.”
Zakharova described Takaichi’s and Motegi’s statements as “outrageous,
completely unacceptable,” accused them of “revanchism,” and said they damage
Japan’s neighbors and the wider Asia‑Pacific.
