Medvedev threatens Japan with ‘terrible consequences’ over disputed Kuril Islands
Dmitry Medvedev threatened Japan’s prime minister on social media (Photo: Sputnik/Alexei Maishev/Pool via REUTERS)
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of
Russia, the aggressor state, threatened Japan over the status of the Kuril
Islands in a post
on X on Aug. 13.
Writing in his characteristically aggressive tone, Medvedev
responded to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statement that the Kuril
Islands are Japanese territory on historical grounds and under international
law.
“All this chatter changes nothing,” Medvedev wrote, calling
the islands “Russian lands.”
“Anyone who cannot understand this will face the terrible
consequences of their delusions,” he wrote.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin also made his first visit to
the Kuril Islands on Aug. 13. Japan lodged a protest, with Foreign Minister
Toshimitsu Motegi saying the four Northern Territories, including Iturup
Island, belong to Japan both historically and under international law. Takaichi
called Putin’s visit “absolutely unacceptable.”
Such a visit to the disputed territories “offends the
Japanese people” and is “incompatible with Japan’s consistent position on the
Northern Territories,” the BBC quoted Takaichi
as saying.
Bloomberg reported on Aug. 4 that the Japanese government
plans to expand the country’s military capabilities in response to the threats
posed by China, North Korea and Russia.
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