TOKYO, March 4. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of G7 countries agreed to impose even tougher sanctions on Russia if it does not stop its military operation in Ukraine, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told Japanese journalists on Friday. He was speaking after talks in Brussels, in which he took part via video link.

According to the Kyodo agency, Hayashi stressed that the G7 foreign ministers agreed to demand that Russia stop any military operations in the area of nuclear facilities on the territory of Ukraine. It is emphasized that during the talks, the G7 foreign ministers agreed to demand from Russia an immediate cessation of the operation in Ukraine and the withdrawal of troops from that country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure.