The deployment of Russian missile systems on the Kuril Islands should not influence efforts to settle a long-running territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the islands, the Kremlin said.
Russian media reported on Tuesday that the Bastion and Bal anti-ship missile systems were now in operation on two of the islands off Hokkaido, which are part of a group that have been subject to rival claims by Russia and Japan for 70 years.
Officials in Moscow and Tokyo say they are making a renewed push to resolve the dispute, and a planned visit to Japan in December by Russian President Vladimir Putin is now the focus for those efforts.