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Lavrov accuses Japan of remilitarization and closer coordination with US

14 August 2026 13:29 (UTC +04:00)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has criticized Tokyo's current policy toward Moscow, APA reports.

In an interview with local state television, Lavrov said that the successors of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were remilitarizing Japan and pursuing a policy of closer coordination with the United States.

He also spoke about his dialogue with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi at the ASEAN forum in the Philippines. Lavrov stressed that he was surprised that his Japanese counterpart presented a brief exchange as a “discussion of regional and bilateral issues.”

“I was surprised. Because this happened during an official reception. There was a long table, and all the ministers were seated. I simply shook his hand, and we took our seats. But they present this as a ‘discussion of bilateral and regional issues,’” Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister also touched upon the recent visit of a Japanese business delegation to Moscow. According to him, members of the delegation openly stated that there was a strict instruction from the Japanese leadership not to discuss any projects with Russia.