Russia bans Japanese sailors from fishing off the South Kuriles. This right was given to them by the Russian-Japanese agreement of 1998.. The Russian side suspended its action, stating that Japan had not made the payments due under the agreement.. This was announced by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
According to her, fishing for marine biological resources was once one of the important areas of Russian-Japanese relations, but now Japan has not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement.. In Tokyo, Zakharova explained, they began to delay the signing of the annual document on gratuitous technical assistance to the Sakhalin Region..
At the end of March, after Japan imposed sanctions against Russia in connection with the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow banned the Japanese from visa-free travel to the South Kuriles and interrupted the discussion of a peace treaty.. Also, the Foreign Ministry announced the termination of agreements on "