MOSCOW, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia will not consider Japan’s request to dismantle a new World War Two memorial in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk.
Japan’s foreign ministry on Saturday said it had “strongly requested” that Russia remove the new statue, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Japan in 1945.
The bronze statue depicts a Soviet soldier destroying a boundary post decorated with an image of a chrysanthemum.
“Such a statute is not constructive in relation to Japan. In particular, the chrysanthemum crest is widely recognised as an emblem symbolising Japan. The installation of a monument depicting its destruction is unacceptable and extremely regrettable in terms of Japanese national sentiment,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Asked about Japan’s request, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday accused Japan of having a selective memory: “It is hard to say what has been forgotten and what is still remembered in Tokyo, but at the very least, we have not forgotten Japanese militarism; we have not forgotten that victory.”
He added: “In this regard we can hardly take such demands and statements into account in any way.”
(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovEditing by Andrew Osborn )
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