MOSCOW – Moscow has brushed aside remarks by US Ambassador to Tokyo George Glass recognizing Japanese sovereignty over the Southern Kuril Islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.

"We see no fundamental new element in this statement by George Glass, head of the US diplomatic mission in Japan. Similar pronouncements of unqualified support for Tokyo's claim to Russian territories have been made by American diplomats before," the Russian Foreign Ministry told Xinhua on Tuesday in response to a request for comments on the remarks.

Russia once again emphasized that its sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Southern Kuril Islands are beyond question. It recalled that the Southern Kuril Islands belong to Russia as the outcome of World War II, under agreements of the Allied Powers, including the United States, and the United Nations Charter.

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Russia's sovereignty over the islands is indisputable, and the ambassador's rhetoric fuels Japanese revanchism and revisionism, the ministry said, adding that such a tendency by Japan worries almost all its neighbors.

Putin's Iturup visit

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto and lodged a strong protest over remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi concerning Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit on Aug 13 to Iturup Island, known as Etorofu in Japan.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin lodged the protest over anti-Russian remarks by the two Japanese officials, according to a statement by the ministry.

Against the backdrop of Japan's alignment with Western sanctions against Russia and its support for the Ukrainian government, Muto was informed that Moscow reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures, the statement said.

Muto stayed inside the Russian Foreign Ministry building for about 20 minutes. He did not take questions from the media.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian media on Monday that Japanese leaders should focus on domestic affairs rather than attacking Russia.

Lavrov said Japan was seeking, together with its close ally the United States, to rewrite international law according to their wishes. He also accused Japan of attempting to evade historical responsibility for crimes it committed and expressed concern over its moves to loosen constitutional constraints and expand the overseas activities of its Self-Defense Forces.