Russia denies island visit politically charged

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev attends the ASEAN-Russia Summit on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi October 30, 2010.

HANOI (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that President Dmitry Medvedev's possible trip to the disputed Kuril islands ahead of a visit to Japan was politically charged, and said it was just about convenience.

The dispute over the islands, which the Soviet Union occupied at the end of World War Two, has harmed relations between Tokyo and Moscow ever since, preventing the signing of a formal peace treaty.

"I can see no link between what the president does within his country and his foreign trip," Lavrov told Reuters on the sidelines of the an Asia-Pacific summit in Hanoi when asked whether the visit could disrupt Russia-Japan relations.

"It is just that the visits were chronologically united in the schedules, it is more convenient," he said, referring to a Kuril stop while visiting other countries in the region.

"The territory of the Russian Federation is the territory of the Russian Federation," he said.

There has been no official confirmation nor denial that Medvedev would visit the disputed Kurils ahead of his trip to Japan for the G20 summit in November.

Lavrov confirmed that there was a high probability of such a visit but he would not elaborate.

On Friday, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Russian officials saying Medvedev would visit the disputed islands on November 1.

A source in the Kremlin earlier this month said that Medvedev may visit the Kurils, triggering a strong response from Tokyo as Japan's foreign minister warned that such a visit would "severely harm" relations.

Firing back, Russia's foreign ministry called Tokyo's claim to the islands a "dead-end."

The Japan-Russia row is flaring up just as Tokyo is locked in a territorial dispute with another huge neighbor, China, over a separate group of isles.

The dispute is a perennial subject of talks when Japanese and Russian leaders meet, but there have been no signs of a potential breakthrough for years.

Politicians in both countries have used tough talk on the disputes to bolster their credential as patriots.

(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by John Ruwitch)