The day before, the order of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on the termination of the agreement with Japan on facilitated visits to the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and the Lesser Kuril Ridge was published on the official internet portal of legal information.
"We have sent a strong protest in connection with this decision," Matsuno said.
On March 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow, in response to Tokyo's unfriendly steps, was refusing to negotiate a peace treaty with Japan, halting visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the southern Kuril Islands, and withdrawing from dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities in the southern Kurils.
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Russia has terminated an agreement with Tokyo on facilitating visits by Japanese citizens to the four disputed Pacific islands, a government order showed on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe agreement dating back to 1999 allowed former residents and their family members of the islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, to visit the Russia-controlled islands without a visa.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced its intention to end the visa-free trips in March in response to Japan's anti-Russian sanctions over the situation in Ukraine.