Russia this year will deploy some of its newest missile defense systems and drones to the Kurile islands, where Moscow and Tokyo have rival territorial claims, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday.
The dispute over the islands, known as the Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, has strained the two countries’ relations since World War II, when Soviet forces occupied four islands at the southern end of the chain.
Moscow and Tokyo still have not signed a formal peace treaty because the dispute is so acrimonious.
The new weapons were part of a drive to rearm military units already deployed …read more
Source: Voice of America
