Russia has promised retaliatory measures against the "unfriendly attacks" by the E.U. and U.S. and voiced disappointment over new sanctions imposed by Japan, which it said were a result of pressure from the West.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called Japan's decision to impose visa bans on 23 people a "clumsy step."
"Tokyo's decision ... is viewed with disappointment and, naturally, will not go unanswered," Lukashevich said Tuesday in a statement.
"This clumsy step was clearly taken under outside pressure and goes against Tokyo's declarations about the importance of developing ... relations with Russia. We want to underscore: It is counterproductive to speak to us in the language of sanctions," he said.
Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko also said Russia was working on a response to the expanded sanctions imposed by the U.S. and E.U.
"After the second wave of sanctions, the government is developing measures in response, first evaluating the potential damage to our economy," she said, Interfax reported. "Such unfriendly attacks ... cannot be left without a response and I believe there must certainly be a response," she said.
The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called the EU sanctions a sign of European officials' ignorance regarding the situation in Ukraine.
"If someone in Brussels hopes to stabilize the situation in Ukraine this way, this is obvious evidence of full misinterpretation of the domestic political situation in that country and a direct invitation to local neo-Nazis to continue their outrage and lynch civilians in south-eastern Ukraine," the ministry said, Itar-Tass reported.
Also see:
EU Adds 15 to Sanctions List, Branded 'Shameful' by Russia
