Russia Protests Japan's Plan to Host US Typhon Missiles on Kyushu
Russia has formally protested Japan's decision to host US Typhon medium-range missiles on Kyushu, calling the deployment a security threat.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it has lodged a formal protest with Japan over Tokyo's decision to host US-made medium-range missile systems, which Moscow regards as a threat.
The ministry said the note of protest, issued earlier this month, warned Tokyo that stationing the US Typhon missile systems on the island of Kyushu endangers Russia's security as well as regional peace and stability, and called for their removal.
Earlier this week, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko met Japan's ambassador to Moscow, Akira Muto, and pressed Tokyo to treat the contents of the previously delivered note with the utmost seriousness, the ministry said.
The dispute adds to existing strain in relations. Last month, President Vladimir Putin travelled to the Kuril Islands, the Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago claimed by both countries.
The Soviet Union seized the islands in the closing days of World War II, and the unresolved territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty that would formally end their hostilities. Moscow has dismissed Tokyo's complaints, reaffirming that Russia's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are absolutely unshakable.