Russian said Thursday it will ban Japanese officials from visa free visits to the Southern Kurils, (called as the Northern Territories in Japan), if the latter continue to claim the ownership of the islands.

"Political statements on such a sensitive topic ... are inappropriate and contradictory to the agreements of the two countries' leaders over upholding calm environment around these negotiations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Moscow's remarks came three days after Ichita Yamamoto, Japanese State Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, said these islands must be returned to Japan.

Yamamoto visited the disputed islands, which blocks the two countries from signing a peace treaty after the end of WWII, in the frames of the visa-free cross-border exchanges Moscow and Tokyo had agreed upon.

The agreement allows the Japanese to conduct short-term visa-free visits to Southern Kurils to attend the graves of their ancestors there.

Moscow stressed that in case Japanese politicians cannot refrain from public statements over the Southern Kurils issues, Russia reserves the right to restrict their participation in the visa-free trips program.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed that a peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo could eventually be reached only following the judo principle of hikiwake, which means "no winner, no loser."