Russia Needs Advanced Military Group Stationed on Kuril Islands - Medvedev

The Russian prime minister arrived for a working visit on the Iturup Island, one of the four Kuril Islands, earlier in the day.

ITURUP ISLAND (Sputnik) – An advanced combat-ready military group should be deployed on the Kuril Islands, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday.

“We need an advanced combat-ready military group stationed on the Kuril Islands. All the necessary conditions for it have been met in accordance with the decisions made by the Commander-in-chief,” Medvedev told reporters after his visit to the island of Iturup.

In June, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to double construction rates at military facilities on the Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk that are claimed by Japan.

As Russia and Japan failed to sign a permanent peace treaty following the end of World War II, Tokyo still challenges Russia's sovereignty over the Kuril Islands.

Earlier in August, the Russian government adopted a Kuril development program with an overall budget of over 60 billion rubles ($870 million at the current exchange rate).