Russia Summons Japanese Ambassador Over Protests on Putin's Kuril Islands Visit

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Japan’s ambassador to Moscow Akira Muto, who was called in by the Russian Foreign Ministry, spent 25 minutes there and left without any comments, a TASS correspondent reports.

TASS has compiled the key facts about the situation.

Arrival

- Muto was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and arrived at the ministry, a TASS correspondent reports.

- The envoy ignored questions from journalists and proceeded into the building.

- Muto left the Russian Foreign Ministry after 25 minutes without comment.

Foreign Ministry’s statements after summoning the ambassador

- Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin expressed a strong protest to the Japanese diplomat regarding the anti-Russian statements made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup Island.

- Muto was told that Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are indisputable.

- Any Japanese attempts, direct or indirect, to call into question the ownership of the southern Kuril Islands are absolutely unacceptable and illegal, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

- The Japanese ambassador was also informed that Moscow has the right to take adequate retaliatory measures due to Tokyo’s sanctions and its support for the Kiev regime.

The Japanese ambassador was called in to the Foreign Ministry

- The day before, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS that the ambassador would arrive at the ministry on Tuesday.

- She said that after the comment by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Muto "felt much better and will arrive at the Foreign Ministry tomorrow in connection with the summons."

- Earlier, in response to a question from TASS, Lavrov said that Russia summoned the Japanese ambassador after Tokyo protested over Putin’s trip to Iturup Island. However, the embassy "dodged the issue" and said that the diplomat would not be able to visit the ministry on either August 14 or August 17 without giving a clear explanation.

The position of the Russian Foreign Ministry

- Instead of "attacking" Russia over Putin’s trip to the Kuril Islands, Japan would be better off dealing with its own domestic affairs, Lavrov said the day before, in response to a question from TASS.

- Muto must appear at the Russian diplomatic mission for an explanatory conversation regarding both the protest declared by Japan in connection with the Russian president’s trip to Iturup Island and the tactics used in his work in Moscow, Lavrov said in response to a question from TASS.

- According to him, Tokyo has crossed the "line of propriety" in its unacceptable statements about Putin’s trip to the Kuril Islands.

- Japan has gone so far as to unceremoniously tell the Russian leader which regions to visit; this is absolutely unacceptable, Zakharova said on August 13.

- She noted that Japan’s statements about Putin’s trip are legally unfounded.

- Tokyo is living in some kind of imaginary world regarding the Kurils, which has nothing in common with reality; Russia’s sovereignty over the islands is beyond doubt, Zakharova said.

Japan’s protest

- On August 13, Putin visited Iturup Island in the Kurils during a trip to the Sakhalin Region.

- The Russian leader’s visit to the Kurils immediately became the most discussed topic in the Japanese segment of X.

- Motegi said in a statement that he expressed "strong protest" to Russia.

- He said that all the "northern territories," as Tokyo calls the southern part of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, are "historically and legally [Japanese] territory."

- The Japanese prime minister voiced a similar view.

- She also said that Putin’s trip to Iturup had made the normalization of relations between Japan and Russia more difficult.

- Groups of far-right activists held spontaneous protests in the area where the Russian embassy in Tokyo is located, a Russian diplomatic mission official told TASS.

- On the same day, the Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Tokyo Nikolay Nozdryov over Putin’s trip to Iturup Island, Kyodo News reported.