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Japanese Foreign Ministry hands Russian ambassador note of protest over consul’s detention

Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that Russia violated the Vienna Convention and its move is "totally unacceptable"

Japanese Foreign Ministry Osugi/Shutterstock/FOTODOM

Japanese Foreign Ministry

© Osugi/Shutterstock/FOTODOM

TOKYO, September 27. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin has been summoned by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and handed a note of protest regarding the detention of Japan’s consul in Vladivostok on September 26, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday citing Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as saying.

Hayashi stated that Russia violated the Vienna Convention and its move is "totally unacceptable," according to the news agency.

The Japanese minister said that Tokyo demanded apologies on behalf of the Russian side as the detained diplomat had never been involved in any illegal activities and also urged against any repetitions of such incidents.

According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Japanese diplomat was detained while receiving classified information about current aspects of Russia’s cooperation with an Asia Pacific country, impacts of the West’s sanction policy on the economic situation in the Maritime territory and paying for it.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced later that the detained Japanese diplomat, Motoki Tatsunori, was pronounced as persona non grata and was offered 48 hours to leave the territory of Russia.

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