Russian envoy to Japan Mikhail Galuzin has said that the resolve of the US and its Western allies, who are ready to sanction any country with its own position, poses a threat to the world order.
"The problem is that Western countries, led by the US, are confident in their exceptionality, their superiority, and their ability to punish those who do not agree with their policies and independently pursue their national interests. And this is not only a problem for Russia, it is a problem for the entire international community", the Russian diplomat underscored.
Galuzin also noted that "such behaviour as attempts to punish with sanctions those who dare to pursue an independent policy that does not necessarily coincide with the West's interests are irresponsible and very dangerous for the world order based on the UN Charter".
The Russian envoy spoke as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier on Friday that Tokyo is imposing new sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.
"In addition to the sanctions announced on 23 February, our country is intensifying them in the following way: freezing capitals, ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens and entities, freezing assets of financial organisations, ban on the goods that may be used for military purposes", Kishida told a news conference.
He added that the sanctions include restrictions on exports to organisations related to the defence industry as well as the export of such goods as semiconductors and universal purpose items.
The Japanese broadcaster TBS, in turn, cited Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki as saying that the sanctions would affect three Russian financial institutions - VEB.RF, Promsvyazbank, and Bank Rossiya. According to Suzuki, the assets of these financial institutions would be frozen.
This came after President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a slew of new "severe" sanctions against Russia, which, he said, were "purposefully" designed "to maximise the long-term impact on Russia and to minimise the impact on the United States and our allies".
He announced that four more Russian banks that hold more than $1 trillion in assets would be sanctioned and their assets in the US frozen, adding that Russian "elites" and their families would be sanctioned as well.
The US and the EU previously imposed a number of economic sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, with Russia's Foreign Ministry pledging to retaliate. "There should be no doubt - the sanctions will result in a strong response, not necessarily symmetric, but well-calculated and painful for the American side", the ministry said in a statement.
In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics requested Moscow's assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said that the operation is only targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow underlines that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.