The Russian Executive has considered this Thursday "outrageous" and "offensive" the words of the Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, in which she censured President Vladimir Putin's visit to the islands of the disputed Kuril archipelago, his first trip to the area, which has also prompted the summoning of the Russian ambassador in Tokyo.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zajarova, has hardened the tone by qualifying Takaichi's statements as "extremely outrageous and unacceptable," who had warned that the presence of the Russian leader on the island of Iturup --Etorofu in the Japanese denomination-- will increase the animosity of Japanese public opinion towards Russia.
"We categorically reject these statements for being politically irrelevant, offensive and, of course, legally null (...) They are further proof of Tokyo's myopia, which has opted for an anti-Russian stance that borders on hostility," Zajarova stated, who also took the opportunity to criticize the sanctions imposed by Japan on Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine.
From the diplomatic portfolio, the spokesperson has questioned the Japanese Government's invocation of International Law and has emphasized that "Russia's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Kuril Islands are unquestionable."
Zajarova's statements come after Takaichi condemned Putin's visit to the disputed islands --during which he toured a fish processing plant and met with local residents-- despite repeated requests for him not to travel there.
"The Northern Territories are, from a historical point of view and by virtue of International Law, an inherent part of our country," the Prime Minister defended.
In response, Japanese authorities have summoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo, Nikolái Nozdrév, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to formally convey their protest and to relay the message to the Kremlin.
The Russian president has traveled this Thursday for the first time in person to Iturup, one of the four disputed islands, called Etorofu by Japan, as part of a tour that includes other regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
This trip to the Kuriles is interpreted as a demonstration by Moscow of its sovereignty over the archipelago in a context of high tension, in which Tokyo, in addition to adhering to international sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, has reinforced its joint military maneuvers with the United States in the Pacific.