Russia summons Japanese envoy over Putin's Kuril Islands trip

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin on Tuesday received Japanese Ambassador Akira Muto at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, lodging a formal protest over remarks by Japan's prime minister and foreign minister criticizing President Vladimir Putin's Aug. 13 visit to Iturup in the disputed Kuril Islands. The meeting came two days after the ambassador initially failed to appear for the summons, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating Monday that the embassy had offered no clear explanation for Muto's unavailability on Aug. 14 or 17. Muto spent approximately 25 minutes inside the ministry building before departing without comment to reporters.

Territorial claim

The Foreign Ministry told Muto that the southern Kuril Islands — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group — became Russian territory following World War II under agreements among the Allied powers and the UN Charter. "Any attempts by the Japanese side to directly or indirectly call this obvious reality into question are absolutely unacceptable and illegal," the ministry said in a statement following the meeting. Tokyo designates the four islands as its "Northern Territories" and contests Russian jurisdiction.

Sanctions linkage

Moscow explicitly connected the diplomatic dispute to Japan's participation in Western sanctions against Russia and its backing for the Ukrainian government, stating that it reserved the right to take "adequate countermeasures" against Tokyo. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that after Lavrov publicly criticized the ambassador's absence on Monday, Muto "suddenly felt much better" and agreed to attend Tuesday's meeting. The protest underscores deepening friction between the former wartime adversaries.

Peace treaty deadlock

The territorial dispute over the southern Kuril Islands has prevented Russia and Japan from concluding a post-World War II peace treaty to formally end hostilities. Putin traveled to Iturup last week, prompting immediate protests from Japanese leadership and compounding tensions already strained by Tokyo's sanctions regime over the Ukraine conflict.