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Dmitry Medvedev orders extra Russian deployment on Kuril Islands
Dmitry Medvedev orders extra Russian deployment on Kuril Islands - Telegraph
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday ordered the deployment of extra weaponry on the Kuril Islands claimed by Japan, escalating tensions in a dispute that has festered since World War II.
Bluntly describing the Pacific islands as an "inseparable" part of Russia's territory and a strategic Russian region, Mr Medvedev also ordered an expansion of its presence on the remote archipelago.
His comments represented a drastic sharpening of Moscow's rhetoric in the dispute with Tokyo after Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan called Mr Medvedev's unprecedented visit to the islands in November an "unforgivable outrage".
The remarks are also sure to create an icy atmosphere when Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara visits Moscow on Friday for previously scheduled talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
"The additional weapons which will be deployed there must be sufficient and modern to ensure the security of these islands which are an inseparable part of the Russian Federation," Mr Medvedev said.
"We will make every necessary effort to strengthen our presence on the Kuril Islands. This is our strategic region," he said at a meeting with Russia's ministers of defence and regional development shown on state television.
The Kuril Islands are an integral part of Russia.