Russia Regrets Tokyo's Decision to Postpone Military VisitsMoscow on Friday expressed regret and bewilderment over Tokyo's decision to postpone the planned exchange of visits by Russian and Japanese military delegations.Such a move by the Japanese side "causes particular regret on the background of Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Japan, which became an important step forward in the development of bilateral relations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in an interview here. "On such a favorable background, Japan's actions in relation to our employee in Tokyo (whom Japan has accused of espionage) and the decision to postpone the visits of the two countries' military delegations are remarkable and inexplicable," Losyukov stressed. He recalled that the intentions of Moscow and Tokyo to develop bilateral contacts, including those between defense ministries, were confirmed at the recent Russian- Japanese summit in Okinawa. In this connection, the deputy minister said, the Russian side "regrets and is bewildered by continuing actions aimed at limiting Russian-Japanese relations." A senior Russian Defense Ministry official also regretted the Japanese cabinet's decision to delay military contacts with Russia, noting that it will slow the expansion of bilateral cooperation in the defense field. Initially, it was planned that Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev will visit Japan in November. Trips by a 30-man Japanese self-defense agency delegation and by a Russian delegation headed by Col. Gen. Yuri Bukreyev were scheduled for next week. But Japan has put all these visits off because of alleged intelligence activities by the Russian military attache in Japan, according to Japan's National Defense Agency. Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said he would wait and see how this incident will be resolved, describing reports of Russian spying activities in Japan as "groundless." He said the incident "may be a tactical but by no means strategic error on the part of Japan." |
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