EU prolongs economic sanctions on Russia

BRUSSELS, Dec 21 (KUNA) -- The EU prolonged Thursday the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 July 2018.
This decision follows an update from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the EU leaders summit of December 14 the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, said an EU statement.
It noted that since the Minsk agreements have still not been fully implemented, the EU has extended the sanctions by a further six months.
A t a summit in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2015, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany had agreed to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
The EU sanctions were originally introduced on 31 July 2014 for one year in response to Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. They target the financial, energy and defence sectors, and the area of dual-use goods. (end) nk.gta