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Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril Islands

US not denying likelihood of deploying missile shield on Kuril Islands, says Russian envoy

As the Russian envoy noted, a US general was so straightforward as to say that the Island of Iturup is ideally suited for deploying a missile shield system against North Korean missiles

© Sergei Krasnoukhov/TASS

KRABOZAVODSKOYE VILLAGE /Sakhalin Region/, February 26. /TASS/. The Kremlin believes that the US military has not rejected any possibility of deploying their missile shield systems on the southern Kuril Islands, should they be transferred to Japan, Russian Presidential Envoy for Nature Conservation, Environment and Transport Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.

“You have heard the American general’s answer [to the question of whether the United States plans to station a military base on Shikotan, if Russia transfers this island to Japan]: ‘No, we do not plan so far.’ I want to highlight that phrase ‘so far',” Ivanov pointed out.

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As the Russian envoy noted, “another US general” was so straightforward as to say that the Island of Iturup is ideally suited for deploying a missile shield system against North Korean missiles.

“Apparently, they treat us like fools. What North Korean missiles? This would target Russian missiles. The missile shield would be aimed against the Russian Federation and not against Iran and North Korea – these are fairytales for fools,” the Russian presidential envoy stressed.

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