Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Japanese ambassador to protest Tokyo's condemnation of President Vladimir Putin's trip to Kuril Islands, the Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that is claimed by both countries.
Last week, Putin visited Iturup, one of the four southernmost islands of the chain, which Japan calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute has kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.
