Tokyo, Aug. 14 (Jiji Press)--The Chinese and Russian ambassadors to Japan have issued a joint statement claiming that their countries made huge sacrifices in the fight against Nazism and Japanese militarism during World War II. The statement was released on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited one of the four Russian-held islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories. In the statement, Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao and Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev did not directly mention the Northern Territories. On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass said in a social media post, "The United States remains unwavering in its support of its most important ally and in its recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Northern Territories." In recent years, China and Russia have deepened their military cooperation. Last year, China responded fiercely to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan and has since tried to condemn Japan for new militarism. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]