Russia: EU 'absurd' on Kurile Islands

MOSCOW, July 18 (UPI) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry calls a European Union demand for the return of the Kurile Islands to Japan "absurd."

The islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The two countries have never signed a peace treaty.

"The European Parliament seems to be living on another planet," Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov said, according to the Novosti news agency. "It has recently adopted a resolution on the Far East saying the islands were 'occupied.' It is absurd."