The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized that Russia occupied the Kuril Islands (Japan’s Northern Territories) on October 7, 2022. It also called on the international community to continue to take all possible measures to de-occupy this territory.
Source: The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
281 people’s deputies voted for the relevant decision on October 7. The Council appealed to major international organizations and parliaments of foreign countries in the document.
“The draft appeal proposes to determine that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine declares support for Japan’s position on its Northern Territories,” the explanatory note of the draft resolution states.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine created this appeal in order to:
- prevent the tolerance of occupation-related issues;
- draw international attention to support Japan’s sovereign territories;
- accelerate the actual implementation of the 1956 agreements.
The document also states that the territories of the Kuril Islands are under Russian occupation.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to the UN, European Parliament, PACE, OSCE PA, GUAM Parliamentary Assembly, and national parliaments of foreign countries for consistent support and actions to resolve the status of the Northern Territories of Japan.
Uaposition memo: The USSR illegally occupied the Northern Territories of Japan in 1945 and later deported the Japanese population. The joint declaration of the USSR and Japan stated that the Soviet Union agreed to hand over the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan after concluding a peace treaty in 1956. However, Russia as the “successor of the USSR” has not yet fulfilled its obligations. Japan again recognized the disputed Kuril Islands seized by Russia as illegally occupied in March 2022. This happened after Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine. Then Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stressed that the issue of the Kuril Islands had not yet been resolved.
See also: Japan introduced sanctions against 81 Russian individuals and 9 organizations
