MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Federation Council has called the outrage of the Japanese authorities about Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the Kuril Islands "absurd."
"The outrage of the Japanese officials about the Russian president's visit to Kunashir, the most southern of the Big Kuril Islands, is absurd to say the least, both from the point of view of international law and from the point of view of elementary bilateral Russian-Japanese relations," Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Federation Council international affairs commission, told Interfax.
Margelov compared this situation to the joining of the Baltic states to the USSR, which the U.S. refused to recognize both before and after WWII.
"However, the Department of State or the White House never issued any official statements to Russia during visits by Soviet leaders to Tallinn, Vilnius, or Riga. Russia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, but we don't threaten anyone with fists or fingers when Western politicians visit this Balkan territory," Margelov said.
"It is important that our Japanese neighbors and all our partners also understand that talking with Russia from the point of violence is pointless and reaching agreements in this way is just impossible," Margelov said.
"Our stance cannot be changed by pressure. I am sincerely hoping that wisdom will return to the Japanese political practices," Margelov said.