EU prolongs economic sanctions on Russia by six months

Brussels: The European Union on Wednesday prolonged the economic sanctions on Russia for another six months for its role in the ongoing unrest in eastern Ukraine.

The EU said Russia failed to uphold its end of the Minsk peace treaty aimed at de-escalating the conflict in the region, Efe news reported.

Embargoes on Russia`s financial, energy and defence sectors were initially put in place by the EU in July 2014. They were further strengthened in September 2014 in response to Moscow`s actions destabilising Ukraine`s east.

The move to prolong the sanctions came following an update on the peace agreement provided by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose countries coordinate with Russia and Ukraine in the implementation of that ceasefire.

The European Council, which convenes leaders of all 28 EU member states, unanimously formalised the extension of the sanctions in a written procedure.

The sanctions limit EU market access for major Russian state-owned companies: Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank and Rosselkhozbank.

There was also a ban on arms trade and dual-use goods and a curtailing of Russia`s access to technologies that can be used for oil production and exploration.

Around 150 individuals and 37 entities remained subject to a visa ban until September 2017.

Sanctions were also to stay in place with regards to the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which in 2014 was annexed by Moscow following a revolution in Kiev.