Kuril Islands row: Russia summons Japan ambassador

Russia said Monday it had summoned Japanese ambassador Akira Muto after Tokyo condemned President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to the Kuril Islands, which are controlled by Russia and also claimed by Japan.

The islands are known in Japan as the Northern Territories and were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. Russian-Japanese relations have long been affected by the dispute.

Putin travelled to the islands after visiting nearby Sakhalin. Japan then summoned Russia's ambassador in protest.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Japanese officials had “crossed the line of decency” by criticising Putin's trip.

“We have summoned the ambassador,” Lavrov told reporters. He said the summons was intended to address “the conduct of the Japanese leadership” and how ambassadors “should conduct themselves in the host country”.

Lavrov said Tokyo initially said Muto could not attend immediately. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later told state news agency TASS that the ambassador would attend on Tuesday.

Relations between Russia and Japan have worsened since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022. Japan has joined other G7 countries in sanctioning Russia and has provided money and non-lethal defence aid to Kyiv.