The European Union on Thursday extended its economic sanctions against Russia in connection with the annexation of Crimea and the situation in Ukraine until July 31, 2021, according to a statement from the bloc's council of governments.
The decision was made after the European Council assessed the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements on resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine at a meeting on December 10-11.
Given that the agreements are not fully implemented by Russia, the EU leaders have unanimously made a political decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia, ”the council said in a statement.
The EU has dealt a blow to the energy, financial and arms sectors of Russia because of Moscow's role in the conflict in Ukraine and has repeatedly extended them, since the Kremlin is not going to return the Crimean peninsula to Kiev and supports the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has introduced counter-sanctions against the EU countries, which imply restrictions on the supply of food products from Europe (vegetables, fruits, dairy products). At the end of November, by decree of Vladimir Putin, they were extended until the end of 2021.
