Russian parliament criticized Japanese premier's statements

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Lawmakers at the State Duma lower
house of the Russian parliament criticized as "inadequate and
provocatively sharp" the statements by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who called on Monday Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's trip to the Kurils "inexcusable rudeness."
"This tonality is insulting and unacceptable for the current level of bilateral relations and only exacerbates the existing problem," first deputy chairman of the house committee on international affairs Leonid Slutsky stated.
Slutsky said Moscow has repeatedly underlined that under all norms of international law, the South Kurils are "an integral part of the Russian territory."
"We keep reminding our Japanese partners that the Russian president
and Russia's top leadership have all the rights and reasons to visit the regions of their country," he noted.
The lawmaker said he was indignant at the facts of desecration of
Russian state symbols, in particular the incident with the flag near the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.
"Such aggressive rhetoric and demonstrative vandalism which are
apparently caused by Japan's domestic problems, only distance the search for a common denominator in such a sensitive issue as the disputed Kuril islands."
"We've been disappointed again. We can only continue to hope that
Japan will come to have a sober attitude to the relations that
established between our countries after World War II and fixed in the UN hater, including on the territorial issues," Slutsky said.