Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said Japan should remember Russia’s nuclear status amid the dispute over the Kuril Islands. He also urged Tokyo to abandon confrontational rhetoric.
Vyacheslav Volodin said this in an interview with Vesti.
According to him, the Kuril Islands are an “integral part of the Russian Federation,” and the Japanese authorities should remember their country’s history.
“Don’t. It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power such as Russia,” he said.
According to Volodin, the continuation of Tokyo’s current policy will only increase tensions. He called on Japan to build relations with Russia on the principles of “friendship, reciprocity, non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states” and mutually beneficial cooperation.
As a reminder, on August 13, Russian dictator Putin visited the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, for the first time during his rule. Tokyo responded with a protest. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai islets are “inherent territory of Japan” and called Putin’s trip “absolutely unacceptable.”
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the statements by the Japanese authorities “insulting” and “legally null and void.” Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev also said that the Kuril Islands were and would remain Russian territory, and that those who do not recognize this allegedly face “terrible consequences.”
