MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Japan has decided to "blindly and stupidly" follow the US policy of aggressive attacks on Russia in all spheres, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with students and faculty at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

"[Japan] is one of the few countries that have ‘dropped out’ of the general perspective of building up our strategic interaction, because it has decided to follow blindly and stupidly - will you excuse me for saying so - the US policy of not even containing Russia, but simply an aggressive offensive against Russia in all spheres," he said.

Lavrov described Tokyo's decision as "regrettable" and recalled that Moscow had always had a good-natured attitude towards its Japanese neighbors.

"President Vladimir Putin personally paid attention to these relations, informal relations of trust, with all the prime ministers he was in touch with. I’ve met regularly with my counterparts, including Mr. [Fumio] Kishida, who served as foreign minister for some time and visited Moscow," Lavrov said.

He also recalled that earlier Russia and Japan had agreed on an approach to joint economic activities in the South Kuril Islands, but that initiative had "sunk into oblivion."

"Five tracks were agreed upon, but then it all somehow sank into oblivion, long before the current events. What is important for the Japanese is not what it is necessary to somehow pragmatically develop interaction. Every year we hear the 'northern territories’ rhetoric, words of condemnation, references to some maps and demands we cede the islands. It is all very sad, but this mentality, unfortunately, is very deeply ingrained," Lavrov concluded.