MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Washington seeks to keep Japan’s unfounded territorial claims against Russia afloat in order to prevent the two countries from full-scale cooperation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Tuesday.

When commenting on US Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel’s statement that Washington supported Tokyo in the issue of the Northern Territories (which is what the southern Kuril Islands are called in Japan) and recognized Japan’s sovereignty over them, Zakhaova pointed out that "over the past decades, the United States has transformed Japan from an independent state into a dependent one." The Russian diplomat stressed that Moscow had repeatedly pointed to "attempts to artificially pump up hysteria" and tensions around the territorial issue, while the Japanese leadership kept neglecting "the need to build normal and full-fledged economic, financial and cultural ties" with Russia. "Every time, we highlighted the artificial nature of this issue and the related tensions," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted. "It is being fueled by a certain part of Japan’s political establishment. And who’s behind it? The US ambassador has stepped forward and made it clear," she added. Zakharova explained that Washington benefited from keeping the issue afloat because "this artificial problem prevents Japan from engaging in full-scale, mutually beneficial and long-term cooperation with Russia."

The Russian diplomat recommended that the US envoy to Japan "should spend more time telling the Japanese public about the United States’ crimes." "Particularly, about how the United States used nuclear weapons to attack the country’s civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unfortunately, the Japanese public knows little about the US role in those tragic events," Zakharova emphasized.