President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Russia’s Emergencies Ministry to gear up to assist Japan in dealing with the aftermath of the major earthquake and tsunami that pounded the Asian country.
The ministry said that it was ready to provide all necessary aid required at the moment.
Medvedev was speaking at a Friday session of the State Council dedicated to the development of Russia’s energy industry. When news of the Japanese earthquake broke, the leader of the Russian state said that his nation was ready to help its neighbors and that a state of emergency had already been declared. Medvedev ordered all agencies to deal with the possible consequences on Russian territory as well. "On our Kuril Islands, in the Sakhalin region, on our land, we also need to take all of the necessary measures to prevent damage and the loss of human lives," he said.
"Our consolidation should be at its highest today. I am instructing the emergency situations minister to submit these assistance-related suggestions to me for confirmation," President Medvedev said.
The Emergencies Ministry reported it that was ready to carry out the presidential order. "Should Tokyo appeal, including via the United Nations, Russia will be ready to provide the necessary humanitarian aid to Japan," Russian news agency Interfax quoted the Emergencies Ministry source as saying on Friday.
Friday’s earthquake is the biggest to hit Japan in 140 years, unleashing a 10-meter high tsunami that barreled through the country’s Pacific coast. The disaster killed at least 40 people and washed away hundreds of buildings and structures.
Dmitry Medvedev’s offer of help came during the period of strained relations between Moscow and Tokyo, caused by a long-lasting dispute over several islands in Russia’s Far East.
Japan lost the islands, the Kurils, to Russia after the Second World War, but ambiguities in the treaty allowed Japan to claim that the four islands in the archipelago as its territory. Since Russia said that the results of the post-war agreements must not be revised, the two countries have not signed a peace treaty to this day.
Russia’s president paid a visit to the Kurils at the end of October and the move sparked official protest in Japan along with a number of public rallies. Russia responded by announcing plans to boost its military presence in the region.
all donations will go to red cross to help earthquake victims!
