MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has voiced surprise over claims by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who has compared the current situation in Ukraine and Tokyo’s territorial claims to the Kuril Islands.

“One cannot but feel surprise over Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida’s statements made during his visit to Belgium on January, in particular the comparison of the current situation in Ukraine and the problem of what Japan commonly refers to as ‘northern territories’ — the South Kuril islands, which have belonged to Russia since World War II. In particular, it was said that the point at issue was ‘changing the status quo with the use of force’,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“In that connection, it is worth recalling that militarist Japan and Nazi Germany in pursuit of world supremacy used force to upset the status quo that had existed before World War II and occupied a number of states,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Now Mr. Kishida seems to be echoing the recent statements by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Germany. In fact, he has tried to turn history upside down and to revise the universally recognized understanding of the causes and results of World War II,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“It has to be stated that regrettably Tokyo is still reluctant to learn the lessons of history. Such lapses of memory are impermissible, particularly so as the world is about to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied Powers’ victory in World War II, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.