Japan again stated Russia's protest in connection with military exercises in the Kurili area

Japan stated the protest of the Russian Federation in connection with the conduct of military exercises in the area of ​​the southern part of the Kuril Islands. This was announced by the Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Wednesday, speaking in the lower house of parliament, reports TASS with reference to the Kyodo agency.

"This leads to the strengthening of the Russian army in the" northern territories ", which is incompatible with our position on these islands," Taro Kono said. According to Kyodo, the protest was transferred through diplomatic channels.

Tokyo calls the "northern territories" of the South Kurili, including Iturup, contesting their territorial affiliation.

As reported, on March 26, Russian Far Eastern pilots first worked out the relocation to the reserve airfield to carry out the tasks of intercepting a conditioned enemy aircraft. Two of the latest Su-35C fighters carried out a flight from a permanent deployment point in the Khabarovsk Territory to a military airfield Petrel, located on the island of Iturup.

In early February, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported anti -terrorist exercises on the islands of the Kuril ridge. Then, more than two thousand troops took part in the exercises, about 500 units of equipment were involved, including Mi-8AMTSH helicopters of military units deployed in the Sakhalin Region. Japan and then protested .

Meanwhile, it has recently been known that the Japanese Prime Minister Sinzo Abe is going to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on May 26. Among the goals of the visit, in particular, is the receipt of a peace treaty and clarifying the status of the southern islands of the Kuril ridge.

Moscow and Tokyo have been consulting for many decades in order to develop a peace treaty following the results of World War II. The main obstacle to this is the belonging of the southern part of the smoking: after the end of the war, the entire archipelago was included in the USSR, but Japan disputes the belonging of Iturup, Kunashira, Shikotan and the group of islands, which is called Habomays in Japan.