WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The decision of EU foreign ministers on Monday to extend sanctions for another six months comes a day before they were set to expire.
“We welcome today’s decision from the EU’s foreign affairs council to extend sanctions in response to Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine,” Kirby said.
Following the announcement, Russia condemned the sanctions as counterproductive and illegitimate. In response, the Kremlin said retaliatory measures on EU food and agriculture imports would be extended.
The European Union and United States introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia in 2014 over Russia's alleged involvement in Ukrainian internal crisis.
“As we and our EU and G-7 partners have made clear, sanctions are linked to full implementation of the Minsk agreements,” Kirby said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted in a statement the "absurdity" of the EU continuing to shift responsibility for the implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement to Moscow.
Kiev holds the key to settling Ukraine’s internal crisis, but is in no rush to fulfill its obligations, the Russian ministry emphasized.
