Putin Visits Iturup Island in Disputed Kuril Chain

Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Iturup Island on Thursday, according to the official TASS news agency. The island is part of the Kuril Islands chain, over which both Russia and Japan assert sovereignty.

The unresolved peace treaty

Russia and Japan have never signed a formal peace treaty to conclude World War II. The dispute over the Kuril Islands—referred to in Japan as the “Northern Territories”—remains the principal obstacle to such an agreement.

Tour itinerary and naval stop

Putin’s visit to the Kurils marked the conclusion of a broader trip across Siberia and the Russian Far East. He began in Ulan-Ude, capital of the Republic of Buryatia, on 10 August, proceeded to Novosibirsk the following day, and arrived in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on 12 August. There, he boarded the Pacific Fleet’s guided-missile cruiser *Varyag*, received a briefing from Fleet Commander Viktor Liina, met with crew members, and shared lunch with them.

Historical origins of the dispute

The roots of the Kuril Islands dispute extend to the post–World War II period. Tokyo and Moscow signed a Joint Declaration in 1956 that included a ceasefire and a peace treaty framework, but Japan did not ratify the document. Since then, Japan has conditioned any final peace agreement on the return of four islands annexed by the Soviet Union after the war.

Conflicting legal foundations

Japan bases its territorial claim on the 1855 Russo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Boundaries. Russia maintains that its sovereignty over the islands is definitive and lawful, asserting that the issue of归属 was fully settled by the outcomes of World War II.