June 26, 2015

EU extends Russia sanctions

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 LUXEMBOURG – European Union foreign affairs ministers have approved the extension of economic sanctions on Russia over its involvement in Ukraine by six months, until the end of January 2016. The decision made at a meeting in Luxembourg comes after EU ambassadors on June 17 agreed to extend the sanctions hitting Russia’s energy, financial and military sector, and prolonged an investment ban on Crimea for another year. The sanctions were imposed for one year in July 2014. In March, EU heads of government decided that the duration of the restrictive measures against Russia would be linked to the complete implementation of a ceasefire deal signed in Minsk in February between Ukraine and the pro-Russian separatists. An EU spokeswoman said in a tweeted message, “EU has extended economic sanctions against Russia until 31 January 2016, with a view to complete implementation of (the) Minsk agreement.” The sanctions affect Russia’s energy, financial and military sectors. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 22 that Russia believes the sanctions are unfounded. “Speaking of sanctions, reciprocity is the basis for our approach,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked one of his deputies with helping put together a formal appeal to President Vladimir Putin to prolong Russia’s ban on Western food imports. The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has largely held, but observers reported a sharp pick-up in fighting earlier this month in a conflict that has claimed more than 6,400 lives. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse)

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