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Putin lands on Iturup
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, a Japan-claimed island at the end of the Kuril chain near the island of Hokkaido, state media said on Thursday, after major naval drills and a missile firing by ally North Korea.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup”
On the trip, which TASS described as Putin's first in person to the island chain, he visited the Yasny fish-processing plant on Iturup after overseeing the navy drills in Russia's far east.
Vesti TV channel images showed Putin in a dark suit standing in a room looking at two large tuna and halibut on a table as officials spoke about fishing and the migratory behaviour of fish, and he also stopped to try local fish roe.
The visit came as Moscow and Tokyo never signed a formal World War Two peace treaty, with the unresolved territorial dispute over the islands described as the main hurdle.
Tokyo protests, Motegi speaks
Japan protested against Putin's visit, with Japan's foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi saying, "The northern territories, including Etorofu, are Japan's inherent territory both historically and based on international law," and adding, "Japan strongly protests this visit."
The Reuters report said Motegi made the protest on X, while dw also described Tokyo's response as drawing anger from Japan.
Russian media said Putin visited the Yasny fish-processing plant on Iturup, where he was given caviar, and Nikkei Asia reported that Russian television footage showed him examining large tuna and halibut and sampling fish roe.
Reuters also reported that Putin told a group of Iturup locals, "What lovely weather you have there, just like a resort!" and that a woman replied, "And we thought you arranged this!"
Dispute, peace treaty, and drills
The Kuril dispute centers on four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories, with dw saying the islands are now Russian-occupied following the Soviet Union's takeover in 1945 and that Moscow deported their Japanese population of about 17,000 people.
“Moscow and Tokyo never signed a formal World War II peace treaty”
dw added that the unresolved dispute was one of the key reasons why Moscow and Tokyo never signed a formal World War II peace treaty, while Kyiv Post said the dispute has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal peace treaty settling their World War II relationship.
Kyiv Post reported that Putin traveled to Iturup after overseeing Russian Pacific Fleet exercises in the Far East and that during the exercise he rejected Japan’s territorial claims over the islands.
The Reuters account also tied the visit to wider regional military context, saying it followed Wednesday's firing of a ballistic missile by ally North Korea towards waters off the east of the Korean peninsula, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang.
