Russia has decided not to involve the Kuril Islands it disputes with Japan in its recent military drills, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.
Moscow heard about the concern from the Japanese side and did not use the territory of the Kuril Islands during the Vostok-2018 (or East-2018) exercises, Shoigu said at a meeting with the Chief of Joint Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
"We very much appreciate that," Kawano was quoted as saying.
The Vostok-2018, held on Sept. 11-15, involved nearly 300,000 troops, about 36,000 military vehicles and more than 1,000 aircraft from Russia's Eastern and Central military districts, as well as its Northern Fleet.
Units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Mongolian Armed Forces also participated in the drills.
Russia invited Japan to the Vostok-2018 exercises, but Japan refrained from sending its observers or military attaches to these maneuvers, said the minister.
Shoigu hoped that in the future, Russia would be able to show Japan "the entirely peaceful spirit of our exercises, aimed solely at defending the borders of our country."
Russia and Japan have not signed a post-World War II peace treaty due to their rival claims to four Pacific islands, called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
