Russia said on Sunday it will not hold annual intergovernmental consultations on marine fishing cooperation in the area of the southern Kuril Islands, due to the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government.
"In the context of the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government, which obviously run counter to the spirit and letter of the 1998 agreement on strengthening and developing good neighbourliness, the Russian side has informed Tokyo that it could not agree on holding intergovernmental consultations on the implementation of this agreement," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in statements to Sputnik news agency.
The Ministry pointed out that relations between Russia and Japan have been deteriorating since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine and that the Japanese government has been introducing sanctions against Russia in violation of international law.
"To return to a normal dialogue, our Japanese neighbours should demonstrate basic respect for our country, a desire to straighten out bilateral relations," the ministry said, adding that this is something that has not been observed yet.
On Friday, Japan tightened sanctions against Russia in response to Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities.
Last week, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow told Sputnik that Japan continued to insist on holding talks with Russia on allowing Japanese boats to fish off the Kuril Islands after receiving a notification that Moscow cannot set the dates for consultations on the relevant agreement suspended by the Russian authorities in 2022.
Moscow suspended the 1998 agreement on fishing with Tokyo in June 2022. The Japanese government said it regretted Russia's decision and would like to continue consultations.
