Russian Deputy Prime Minister Visits Etorofu

Moscow, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)--Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev on Thursday visited Etorofu, one of the four northwestern Pacific islands at the center of a territorial dispute with Japan, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Trutnev, who also serves as presidential plenipotentiary envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, is apparently planning to attend a youth education forum, held on the island from Wednesday through Aug. 24. The Japanese ministry protested the move via telephone to the Russian embassy in Tokyo, saying that the visit to the disputed island defies Japan's territorial stance and is regrettable. According to local media reports, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who has expressed his intention to visit the island, could do so at the end of the forum. Medvedev's expected visit would sour the Japan-Russia relationship at a time when the two governments are arranging a possible visit to Japan by the year-end by Russian President Vladimir Putin. END