Australia is seeking to join other countries in imposing direct sanctions on Russia, particularly on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Saturday (26/2), Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia had sanctioned Putin and expanded its legal action in the financial sector to a number of Russian lawmakers and Russian oligarchs.
As is known, the United States (US), Canada, the European Union and Britain have agreed to impose sanctions on Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. This was done to increase pressure on Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"It is an extraordinary move to sanction leaders, but it is an extraordinary situation," Payne told a news conference.
He added that the government was seeking advice on how to follow in the footsteps of other countries.
"Vladimir Putin has unparalleled personal power over his country and he has chosen to wage war against a neighbor that poses no threat to Russia, because he wants to reverse history and take the freedom and democracy that the Ukrainian people have chosen for themselves," Payne stressed.
In his new sanctions, Payne said Australia would target 339 members of the State Duma, which is the lower house of the legislature of Russia's parliament and eight more oligarchs.
The new measures follow a series of Australian sanctions announced earlier this week.
"The next immediate priority is to continue sanctions against Vladimir Putin's inner circle and the Russian defense industry," Payne said.
