No official info on date of Japanese foreign minister’s visit to Russia - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. There has yet been no official information on the date of Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the Russian Federation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova said while commenting on reports on the possible cancelation of Kishida’s visit. "We have seen reports in Japanese media regarding the alleged cancelation of the visit by the head of Japan’s foreign policy department," Zakharova said. "We have not seen official statements from Japan’s Foreign Ministry on that account. The talk is about interpretation of media with reference to some sources." She said that as of now, "there has been no agreement about the terms or format of the visit." "It’s impossible to cancel what has not been agreed," the diplomat said. Russia’s dispute with Japan over Kuril Islands On July 23, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he planned to visit the Kuril Islands and recommended his government colleagues to follow suit. Kishida after that sent a request to Medvedev via the Japanese Embassy in Moscow to cancel the trip. Commenting on Kishida’s words, the Russian prime minister’s spokeswoman Natalya Timakova told TASS that Medvedev "defines the routes of his trips across the country’s territory on his own and does not need recommendations from outside." On August 14, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said trips of the Russian government to the Kuril Islands will continue despite Tokyo’s position. The ministry called Japan’s comments unacceptable. During a working trip along Russia’s Far East, Medvedev visited the Kuril Islands on August 22. This caused Tokyo’s negative reaction, and Kishida summoned Russia’s Ambassador to Japan Yevgeny Afanasyev. The problem of the southern Kuril Islands is the key obstacle to a complete normalization of the Russian-Japanese ties and the signing of a peace treaty. After the Second World War, all Kuril Islands were made part of the Soviet Union. But Japan does not agree that the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai island group belong to Russia. Tokyo calls the islands "Northern Territories". Read more