Zelensky Supports Japan's Sovereignty Claim Over Kuril Islands

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed support for Japan's territorial claims over the four southern islands of the Kuril Islands (known in Japan as the Northern Territories), a disputed area between Russia and Japan.

On the 7th (local time), according to the Russian state-run Sputnik news agency, President Zelensky signed a decree recognizing Japan's sovereignty over the four Kuril Islands.

President Zelensky revealed this fact on social media (SNS), stating that it was "a reaffirmation of respect for Japan's governance and territorial integrity."

The Ukrainian parliament passed a decree recognizing Japan's territorial claims over the four islands on the same day and urged the international community to take measures to formalize the territorial status of the Kuril Islands.

The Kuril Islands stretch about 1,300 km between Japan's Hokkaido and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and are effectively controlled by Russia. Japan refers to the four southern islands?Kunashir, Iturup, the Habomai islets, and Shikotan?as the Northern Territories and claims sovereignty over them.

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