The agreement dating back to 1999 allowed former residents and their family members of the islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, to visit the Russia-controlled islands without a visa.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced its intention to end the visa-free trips in March in response to Japan's anti-Russian sanctions over the situation in Ukraine, Xinhua reported.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbas republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years." Following this, the US and its allies announced the introduction of sweeping sanctions against Russia and stepped up arms deliveries to Kyiv.
MP/PR
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