Recalled Japan envoy back in Moscow

Tue Nov 9, 2010

Japan's envoy to Moscow who was recalled last week in reaction to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to disputed Islands has returned to the country.

Kono said he was keen on negotiating a possible meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Medvedev in Yokohama, Japan, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported on Monday.

Medvedev visited the island of Kunashir, one of the four islands known as the Kuril Islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan on November 1. The visit was the first of any such visit made by a Russian leader.

The Japanese premier quickly expressed regret over the controversial visit to the remote Pacific islands.

“Japan's stance is that those four northern islands are part of our country's territory, so the president's visit is very regrettable,” Kan said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara also said any such visit would “hurt the feelings of the Japanese people.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that Medvedev's trip to the disputed islands was politically motivated.

The Russian president "does not take advice from anyone" on which region of Russia he should visit, Lavrov said on Friday.

Kono was temporarily recalled to Tokyo for consultations after Medvedev's visit to the Kunashir Island.

The Kurils Islands have rich fishing grounds, mineral deposits, as well as potential oil and gas reserves.

The archipelago of some 56 islands, which are home to about 19,000 people, has been controlled by Moscow since being seized by Soviet troops in 1945. All of the islands are under Russian jurisdiction, but Japan claims that the four southernmost islands as part of its territory.

Tension over the disputed Kuril Islands has snarled ties between Tokyo and Moscow, preventing the signing of a formal peace treaty to end WWII hostilities.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://presstv.ir/detail/150202.html.