Japan&nbsp;has decided to freeze assets of an additional 17&nbsp;Russian&nbsp;individuals, bringing the total number targeted by&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to 61, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

The step was taken after the United States on Friday imposed&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;on a slew of&nbsp;Russian&nbsp;individuals including&nbsp;billionaire&nbsp;Viktor Vekselberg and 12 members of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.

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Vekselberg was also targeted in the&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;by&nbsp;Japan, as well as 11 members of the Duma and five family members of banker Yuri Kovalchuk, the finance ministry said.

Japan&nbsp;will act in line with other Group of Seven (G7) nations on&nbsp;sanctions, said the government's top spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno.

"As for&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;hereafter, we'll continue to watch conditions and, along with other G7 nations, respond appropriately," Matsuno told reporters at a&nbsp;news conference.

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Tokyo has also imposed&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;on Russia's central bank and seven private banks, among other organisations, as well as various Belarusian individuals and banks and organisations from the country over its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: US warns China against helping Russia

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As part of stronger curbs against Moscow,&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;also said it will widen an export ban to Russia by including 31 items such as semiconductors, communication equipment, sensors and radar, as well as 26 technology packages from Friday.

Japan has decided to freeze assets of an additional 17 Russian individuals, bringing the total number targeted by sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to 61, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

Japan has decided to freeze assets of an additional 17 Russian individuals, bringing the total number targeted by sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to 61, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. The step was taken after the United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a slew of Russian individuals including billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and 12 members of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Also read | Ukrainian man shocked as a missile explodes mere steps away from him: Watch Vekselberg was also targeted in the sanctions by Japan, as well as 11 members of the Duma and five family members of banker Yuri Kovalchuk, the finance ministry said. Japan will act in line with other Group of Seven (G7) nations on sanctions, said the government's top spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno. "As for sanctions hereafter, we'll continue to watch conditions and, along with other G7 nations, respond appropriately," Matsuno told reporters at a news conference. Also read | Europe's fastest growing refugee crisis: In 20 days, 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine Tokyo has also imposed sanctions on Russia's central bank and seven private banks, among other organisations, as well as various Belarusian individuals and banks and organisations from the country over its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Watch | Gravitas: US warns China against helping Russia As part of stronger curbs against Moscow, Japan also said it will widen an export ban to Russia by including 31 items such as semiconductors, communication equipment, sensors and radar, as well as 26 technology packages from Friday.

Japan imposes new sanctions on Russian billionaire, and 16 others

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Saturday he favoured easing some sanctions imposed on Russia if a ceasefire could be implemented in eastern Ukraine with the help of UN peacekeepers.

Gabriel said it was &quot;not realistic&quot; to insist on full implementation of the Minsk peace accords before offering some sanctions relief.&nbsp;

He said he realised his view differed from the official position - that sanctions could only be eased when the Minsk peace accord was fully implemented - but said it was in the world`s interests to break the current impasse.

A Russia-backed separatist insurgency led to fighting in eastern Ukraine that has killed around 10,000 people since 2014.&nbsp;

While the Kremlin denies providing military support for separatists there, the European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Russia for backing the rebels and for annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

Full-scale combat largely ended in 2015 after France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine sponsored a ceasefire agreement in the Belarus capital Minsk, but casualties are still reported on a near-daily basis.

Russia last proposed bringing UN&nbsp;peacekeeping forces into eastern Ukraine.&nbsp;

Gabriel said that, while there were fundamental differences over that plan, it was &quot;one of the few realistic options&quot; for trying to end the violence, and Germany would push for progress on it at the United Nations.

&quot;We need progress urgently because the world is becoming more dangerous,&quot; Gabriel told a meeting also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a Security Conference in Munich.

Russia was an indispensable partner in global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Gabriel added, citing North Korea`s efforts to develop a nuclear capability.&nbsp;

Gabriel, a former economy minister, and Lavrov said they aimed to expand bilateral trade, which rose 20 percent last year.

The two ministers are due to hold a face-to-face meeting later on Saturday, but plans for a four-way meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Friday also including France and Ukraine collapsed after a scheduling conflict.

Gabriel also defended plans for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that would connect Germany and Russia under the Baltic Sea, a project bitterly opposed by Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states on concerns it would increase Europe`s dependence on Russian gas and could cut off Ukraine from gas transit fees.

He said Germany intended to ensure continued use of the existing transit pipeline through Ukraine, and he believed Russia was open to that possibility.

The United States last month said it viewed Nord Stream 2 as a threat to Europe`s energy security.&nbsp;

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Saturday he favoured easing some sanctions imposed on Russia if a ceasefire could be implemented in eastern Ukraine with the help of UN peacekeepers

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Saturday he favoured easing some sanctions imposed on Russia if a ceasefire could be implemented in eastern Ukraine with the help of UN peacekeepers. Gabriel said it was "not realistic" to insist on full implementation of the Minsk peace accords before offering some sanctions relief. He said he realised his view differed from the official position - that sanctions could only be eased when the Minsk peace accord was fully implemented - but said it was in the world`s interests to break the current impasse. A Russia-backed separatist insurgency led to fighting in eastern Ukraine that has killed around 10,000 people since 2014. While the Kremlin denies providing military support for separatists there, the European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Russia for backing the rebels and for annexing Crimea from Ukraine. Full-scale combat largely ended in 2015 after France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine sponsored a ceasefire agreement in the Belarus capital Minsk, but casualties are still reported on a near-daily basis. Russia last proposed bringing UN peacekeeping forces into eastern Ukraine. Gabriel said that, while there were fundamental differences over that plan, it was "one of the few realistic options" for trying to end the violence, and Germany would push for progress on it at the United Nations. "We need progress urgently because the world is becoming more dangerous," Gabriel told a meeting also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a Security Conference in Munich. Russia was an indispensable partner in global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Gabriel added, citing North Korea`s efforts to develop a nuclear capability. Gabriel, a former economy minister, and Lavrov said they aimed to expand bilateral trade, which rose 20 percent last year. The two ministers are due to hold a face-to-face meeting later on Saturday, but plans for a four-way meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Friday also including France and Ukraine collapsed after a scheduling conflict. Gabriel also defended plans for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that would connect Germany and Russia under the Baltic Sea, a project bitterly opposed by Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states on concerns it would increase Europe`s dependence on Russian gas and could cut off Ukraine from gas transit fees. He said Germany intended to ensure continued use of the existing transit pipeline through Ukraine, and he believed Russia was open to that possibility. The United States last month said it viewed Nord Stream 2 as a threat to Europe`s energy security.

Ukraine progress should soften sanctions on Russia - Germany FM

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Japan imposes new sanctions on Russian billionaire, and 16 others

Ukraine progress should soften sanctions on Russia - Germany FM