Medvedev plans to take part in a national youth forum on the Kuril island of Iturup and visit a few construction sites that are part of Russia's Kuril development program mapped out until 2025, Sputnik reported.
The report said this is the first time that the 12-day Iturup National Youth Education Forum has been held on the disputed islands.
All of the Kuril islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, have been administered by Russia since the end of World War II, but Japan also claims sovereignty over four of them -- Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.
Tokyo lodged a formal complaint last week with the Russian Embassy in Japan over Medvedev's planned visit to the islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russian officials would continue working visits to the Kuril Islands despite Japan's protests.
Russia maintains Tokyo's claims demonstrate its "blatant disregard for the commonly-accepted outcome of the Second World War."
According to Sputnik, the Russian government adopted a Kuril development program this month with an overall budget of more than 60 billion rubles (940 million US dollars) on the islands to construct housing and social infrastructure, modernize transport systems and expand telecommunications.
Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
22/8/15
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Kremlin Notes Positive Development of Kuril Islands...
- Medvedev trip to disputed island criticized by Tokyo...
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited one of the Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido on Saturday in a trip that has drawn fire from Tokyo.
Following news reports that Medvedev planned to travel to the Russian-held island of Etorofu to attend a forum for young people living there, the government had appealed for the visit to be scrapped.
“Should he visit, it would be incompatible with Japan’s position and hurt national sentiment,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference Friday before the Russian prime minister’s arrival. “We would never accept this.”
Suga, the top government spokesman, said Japan had conveyed its position to Moscow “at various levels” before Medvedev made the trip.
Speaking to reporters prior to the Russian’s leaders departure for the island, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said that if Medvedev visits Etorofu, “It would not be in line with the agreement between the leaders of the two countries to promote political dialogue in a calm environment.”..........Kyodo
22/8/15
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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev landed on Saturday in the Kuril islands, prompting a swift rebuke from Tokyo, which claims sovereignty over the northwest Pacific archipelago in a long-running dispute...
ReplyDeleteMedvedev landed on Iturup, one of four islands in the chain that lies off Russia's far eastern coast and just north of Japan, Russian media reports said.
"Everything is perfectly modern here," Medvedev was quoted as saying on his arrival.
"This is the result of our development programme for the Kuril islands."
Hajime Hayashi, the head of the Japanese foreign ministry's European division, telephoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo over the visit to the islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
The trip "contradicts Japan's position over the Northern Territories and hurts the feelings of the Japanese people... It is extremely regrettable", Hayashi said, quoted by a foreign ministry official.
Soviet troops seized the islands just after Japan surrendered in World War II.................http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Russian-PM-visits-disputed-Kuril-islands-triggering-Japan-protest/articleshow/48611570.cms