Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken an unprecedented and historic step by personally visiting Iturup Island - the largest in the Southern Kuril Islands chain.
The territory has been the subject of a decades-long diplomatic and territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo, making the visit an extremely strong geopolitical signal. According to official information from the state information agency TASS, this is the first-ever personal visit by the current Russian leader to this disputed demarcation zone.
So far, Russian heads of state and prime ministers have visited the archipelago a total of five times, with four of the visits being by Dmitry Medvedev (in his role as president and prime minister), and in 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was also there. Putin's current visit is a direct continuation of his large-scale working tour of Siberia and the Far East, which began at the beginning of the week.
Fish, caviar and economic presence
The TV channel “Russia 24“, quoted by the agency Interfax (interfax.ru), broadcast footage from the Russian president's first stop on the island - the fish processing complex "Yasny" in Iturup. Dressed in a dark suit, Putin toured the production facility, learned about changes in the region's marine bioresources due to climate change, and tasted local red caviar.
The visit is intended to emphasize the islands' full economic integration into the Russian Federation. In his talks with Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko, the Russian leader emphasized plans to develop tourism and modernize logistics infrastructure.
Military context and sharp warnings to the West
The visit to the Kuril Islands takes place against a backdrop of enormous tension in the Asia-Pacific region. Just a day earlier, in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Putin boarded the guards missile cruiser “Varyag“ to inspect the final stage of the exercises of the Russian Pacific Fleet. The maneuvers involve over 13,000 military personnel, 60 ships and 30 aircraft, which has already prompted an official diplomatic protest from Japan.
During the inspection, reported by the world agency Reuters (reuters.com), Putin came up with a number of key positions:
- Territorial sovereignty: The Russian president stressed that Russian control over the islands is a “reality that emerged after World War II, which is firmly enshrined in international documents“.
- Relations with Tokyo: He criticized Japan for imposing economic sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. Putin noted that Moscow had a constructive dialogue with the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the current change in Japan's position was not provoked by the Russian side.
- Threat of a mirror response: The Russian leader issued a stark warning to Western countries, saying that Russia would respond by confiscating merchant ships "anywhere in the world, including in the Pacific", if its vessels were detained by European regulators.
Timeline of the Kuril Islands dispute
The archipelago, known in Japan as the “Northern Territories“, was occupied by Soviet troops in the final days of World War II. Because of this unresolved territorial dispute, Moscow and Tokyo have never signed a formal peace treaty since the end of the global conflict in 1945.
With this visit, the Kremlin clearly demonstrated that it has no intention of making any concessions regarding its sovereignty in the Far East, strengthening its economic and military presence in the strategic region.