TOKYO, February 25. /TASS/. Russia will respond to the new sanctions, announced by the Japanese government Friday, Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin said at a press conference in Tokyo.
"We’ve read today’s announcement about the so-called sanctions. Recently, I’ve told high-ranking Japanese officials that Russia will provide a response to these actions, and, I believe, this response will be serious," he noted.
A corresponding official statement will be made at the appropriate time, the envoy said.
Answering additional questions regarding the potential damage from the Japanese sanctions to the Russian economy, Galuzin noted that he cannot provide an assessment so far, because Tokyo has not divulged the details of the new sanctions package yet.
"But there is one thing that I can say for sure, the damage will be mutual, both to those imposing [the restrictions] and those affected [by the sanctions]," the ambassador said, condemning the actions by the Japanese authorities.
He underscored that such action by the Japanese government "do not contribute to development of mutually beneficial and good-neighborly relations" between Moscow and Tokyo.
"They do not contribute to establishment of a positive atmosphere around the dialogue on a far-reaching array of issues, including a peace treaty," he added.
On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. He disclosed that Tokyo decided to reinforce restrictive measures against Russia in three areas over the situation in Ukraine: issuing visas to Russian citizens, freezing of financial institutions’ assets and restricting the export of a number of products, including semiconductors.