Japan has renounced Russia’s decision to withdraw from World War II peace talks, more than 76 years after the Soviet Union ended hostilities with Japan. The two sides never signed a peace treaty to formally conclude the war and have been locked in a dispute over territorial rights to the Kuril Islands, which Japan calls its “Northern Territories.” Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday blamed Russia for walking away from peace talks.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida: “This entire situation has been created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And Russia’s response to push this onto Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable. Japan would like to strongly protest against this.”