Top diplomats of Japan and the United States on Saturday discussed the need to bolster the alliance’s deterrence and response capabilities after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi saying its impact would not be limited to Europe.

Speaking to reporters, Hayashi slammed Moscow's "aggression," in some of the government's strongest criticisms yet of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The top Japanese diplomat said he had had spoken over the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for about 25 minutes in the morning, with the two agreeing on the need “to deal with Russia's actions appropriately in order to avoid leaving behind mistaken lessons” — an apparent signal to China.

“The invasion by the Russian military violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, seriously violates international law ... and shakes the very foundations of the international order that prohibits unilateral changes in the status quo by force,” Hayashi said. “We shared the understanding that the impact of this will not stop in Europe.”