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EU formally extends Russia bans to January 2017

Friday, 01 July 2016 12:29 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 01 July 2016 1:09 PM ]

The file photo shows flags of the European Union in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (AFP)

The European Union Friday formally extended until January 2017 its economic sanctions against Russia over Moscow’s alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"On 1 July 2016, the (European) Council prolonged the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 January 2017," the EU said in a statement.

It added that the EU will prolong the sanctions which target Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors because the provisions of the 2015 Minsk peace agreement were "not fully implemented."

The government in Kiev and pro-Russia forces signed the ceasefire agreement in the Belarusian capital in September 2014 in an attempt to halt the conflict. They agreed to 12 points, including pulling back heavy weapons, releasing prisoners, setting up a buffer zone on the Russia-Ukraine border, and allowing access to international observers.

The warring sides also inked another truce deal, dubbed Minsk II, in February 2015 under the supervision of Russia, Germany and France. Since then, however, both parties have, on numerous occasions, accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said the sanctions will stay in place until the crisis was resolved.

"What goes around, comes around. Sanctions continue until Minsk agreements are fully implemented," the president said a in a message posted on Twitter.

Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April 2014 to crush the pro-Russians there.

The crisis has left more than 9,000 people dead and over 20,000 others injured, according to the United Nations.

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