TOKYO - Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Etorofu Island on Thursday, the country's Tass news agency reported, in his first trip to the Russian-held, Japanese-claimed island chain off Hokkaido.
Japan maintains that the Northern Territories, consisting of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, were illegally seized by the Soviet Union soon after Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945. Russia, which calls them the Southern Kurils, argues the seizure was legitimate.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has lasted nearly four-and-a-half years. Putin's move appears aimed at showing observers at home and abroad that Moscow will not make territorial concessions including to Japan, which has called for the return of the disputed islands.
The territorial dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty after World War II.
Prospects are dim for restarting talks on signing the treaty, with little sign of improvement in bilateral ties after Japan joined the United States and other countries in imposing sanctions to hit Moscow's war chest in the wake of the start of the invasion in 2022.
