Moscow is postponing consultations between Russian and Japanese deputy foreign ministers as Japan has imposed further sanctions on Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

"The consultations have been postponed, and we have already informed the Japanese side of this decision," said Maria Zakharova, deputy director of the ministry's information and press department.

Consultations between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and his Japanese counterpart, Shinsuke Sugiyama, were supposed to be held in Moscow in August.

However, "in light of the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions by Tokyo, we believe that holding such a meeting would be inappropriate," the Interfax news agency quoted Zakharova as saying.

In January, the two deputy ministers met in Tokyo over territorial issues and bilateral economic cooperation.

Following the European Union (EU) and the United States, Japan said last Monday it will also impose additional sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Russia criticized the additional sanctions and warned that the move could adversely affect relations between the two countries.