I bet Russia is regretting the extremely hard line it took about keep Soviet end of WWII gains in the Kuril Islands leading down to the main island of Hokkaido (and I wouldn't be surprised if they would still be holding a hunk of that island if we had provided them with the transportation to it).

You never know when you might need ... well, "countries don't have friends, they have interests," but here a non-hostile neighbor.