MOSCOW, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Monday condemned Japan's 27th sanctions package as illegitimate.

"The Japanese government continues to take reckless steps that provoke further degradation of what little remains of that state's relations with Russia," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

On Oct. 2, Tokyo announced its 27th package of measures against Russia, affecting 33 Russian legal entities and nine individuals, as well as a number of companies abroad. For the first time, the restrictions also cover the sphere of shipping, Zakharova noted.

Zakharova criticized Japanese authorities for attempting to justify the measures with the "current situation around Ukraine" and for presenting them as a "contribution to a peaceful settlement."

"We see in this yet another confirmation of the lack of independence of the foreign policy course pursued by Tokyo, dictated not by national interests, but by Japan's reckless solidarity with the so-called like-minded countries in the Euro-Atlantic region," she said. ■

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