Russian high-ranking officials inspect this place for the first time, knock on Japan! Belonging to after the Russia-Ukraine conflict | Prime Minister | Senior Official
According to the Japanese newspaper "Daily News" on July 5th, on July 4th, the Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Russian Federation's Plenipotentiary Representative to the Far East Federal District, Trutnev, "inspected the island of Zetau.". This is the first time that a senior official of the Russian government went to the South Kuril Islands after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last February.
The picture is a photo of the selected island.
According to the report, the Russian government's move is intended to encourage local officials to independently promote the development of the South Kuril Islands, and to contain Japan, which coordinated with Europe and the United States to implement sanctions against Russia after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
According to reports, this is also the second time that Russian political figures have visited the South Kuril Islands, following the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mishuskyin in July 2021 and the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Government Office Director Grigorenko and Deputy Prime Minister Husnulin in October of that year.
![Russian high-ranking officials inspect this place for the first time, knock on Japan! Belonging to after the Russia-Ukraine conflict | Prime Minister | Senior Official](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/cb82545e0f972485985857f8f1801e54.jpg)
Russia Japan relations have been plagued by territorial disputes. The four islands north of Hokkaido, Japan, including Chikatsu, Sedan, Kokuto, and Otoro, are known as the Northern Four Islands by Japan, while Russia refers to them as the South Kuril Islands. These islands belonged to Japan before World War II, were occupied by the Soviet Union after World War II, and were effectively controlled by Russia as the successor state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Russia and Japan have not yet concluded a peace treaty due to disputes over the ownership of these islands.
In March 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that due to Japan's sanctions against Russia, Russia will not continue to negotiate with Japan on the issue of a peace treaty. The Russian side also announced the cessation of visa free policies for Japanese citizens visiting the South Kuril Islands and withdrawal from the South Kuril Islands Economic Cooperation Dialogue.