Japanese Envoy, Senior Russian Diplomat Discuss Territorial Issue

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations, including Russia's effective control over the four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories.

According to the Japanese Embassy in Moscow, Muto explained Tokyo's position on the territorial issue during the meeting.

The embassy said that Muto and Rudenko discussed various issues between the two countries from the perspective of appropriately managing bilateral relations. They also talked about the roles of cultural exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Rudenko argued that Japan's protest over President Vladimir Putin's visit to the disputed islands last month and its increased military assistance to Ukraine are making the prospect of normalizing dialogue even harder to attain.

The deputy foreign minister also referred to Japan's expanding joint military exercises with the United States and other countries and the deployment of medium-range missile systems in Japan, according to the Russian ministry.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]