Russia has suspended talks with Japan over the Kuril Islands, which have been ongoing since WWII. Russia says the move was a response to Japanese sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have never formally closed WWII hostilities. They continue to dispute ownership of the Kuril Islands, which lie off Japan’s northernmost island Hokkaido. The Soviet Union annexed these islands in the dying days of World War Two, claiming them as its reward for joining the allied fight with Japan.

In the years since the war, Russia and Japan have never formally resolved the question of who the islands belong to. The two countries have maintained peaceful relations and secured sizeable energy and trade deals, but the fate of the Kuril Islands is still hotly disputed.

Arguments between the two countries periodically flare up when Russia sends diplomatic missions to the disputed islands, or advances plans to further integrate them economically with Russia.

Now, the talks – which have been going on since 1951 – will stop. In response to the Japanese sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is breaking off talks over the Kuril Islands. Japan has sanctioned 76 individuals and seven banks, frozen Russian foreign currency reserves, and limited exports of high-tech components to Russia.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the sanctions as a sign of "openly unfriendly positions and attempts to damage the interests of our country".

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he opposed the decision. “This entire situation has been created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Russia's response to push this onto Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable,” said Mr Kishida.

Japan has summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest against the decision. Russia, meanwhile, has ended visa-free travel for Japanese citizens and withdrawn from talks on joint business projects on the islands.

“All responsibility for the damage to bilateral co-operation and the interests of Japan itself lies with Tokyo, which deliberately made a choice in favour of an anti-Russian course instead of developing mutually beneficial co-operation and good neighbourliness,” said Russia’s Foreign Ministry.