Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed regret that his visit to the disputed Kuril Islands in Russia's Far East in November led to the recall of the Japanese ambassador.
"I sincerely regret that I, in essence, contributed to the suspension of his political career. We did not aim at that," Medvedev said Friday in an end-of-year interview broadcast live on Russia's three main TV channels.
He also reiterated that Russia will not give up the islands said Moscow is ready to cooperate with Tokyo.
In November, Medvedev became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit one of the Kuril Islands (called the Northern Territories in Japan). The Kremlin said the Russian president could travel freely around his own country, and does not have to share his travel plans with anybody.
Japan fired its ambassador to Russia on Wednesday for failure to timely inform Tokyo about the visit. The Japanese government concluded that the country's diplomatic mission in Russia, led by Ambassador Masaharu Kono, misled the Japanese Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Naoto Kan by reporting that the Russian president did not plan to visit southern Kurils.
"This [the territory of the Kurils] is our land, we have to make all necessary decisions and build facilities there, creating comfortable conditions for people to live there," Medvedev said.
"We are ready to implement joint economic projects and take into account these or those historic issues connected with the Kurils. We are ready to work with Japan, but this does not mean we should give up the Kurils as our land," he said.
Both Japan and Russia have laid claims to the islands since they were annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.
MOSCOW, December 25 (RIA Novosti)
