MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. The Japanese embassy has failed to clearly explain why its ambassador ignored a summons to appear at the Russian foreign ministry in connection with Tokyo’s protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"When we learned how Mrs. Takaichi and her foreign minister had characterized our president’s trip within his own country, to his own citizens, we immediately summoned the Japanese ambassador," he said when asked by TASS about Moscow’s reaction to Tokyo’s protest following Putin’s visit to Iturup.

"The embassy’s response was quite vague. After a pause, they explained that he (the ambassador - TASS) would not be able to come either on Friday, August 14 or on Monday, August 17, i.e. today, because he is either not in Moscow or is not feeling well. We did not quite understand," he noted.