EU Officially Extends Anti-Russia Sanctions Until July 31, 2017

© Sputnik / Vladimir Sergeev / Go to the mediabankFlags of Russia, EU, France and coat of arms of Nice on the city's promenade
Flags of Russia, EU, France and coat of arms of Nice on the city's promenade - Sputnik International
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The European Union has officially extended economic restrictions against Russia by six months until July 31, 2017.

"On 19 December 2016, the Council prolonged the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 July 2017," the Council of the European Union said in a statement.

In particular, the sanctions

  • limit access to EU primary and secondary capital markets for five major Russian majority state-owned financial institutions and their majority-owned subsidiaries established outside of the EU, as well as three major Russian energy and three defense companies;
  • impose an export and import ban on trade in arms;
  • establish an export ban for dual-use goods for military use or military end users in Russia;
  • curtail Russian access to certain sensitive technologies and services that can be used for oil production and exploration.

Flags of Russia, EU, France and coat of arms of Nice on the city's promenade - Sputnik International
EU 'Unfortunately Does Not Have Political Will' to End Anti-Russia Sanctions
The EU sanctions also include a number of individual restrictive measures, particularly, a visa ban and an asset freeze, on 52 people and 37 entities. These measures are in place until March 15, 2017. Anther list of sanctions targets those involved in Crimean reunification with Russia in 2014. These sanctions are in place until June 23, 2017.

At a summit in Brussels on December 15, the leaders of EU member countries adopted a political decision to extend the anti-Russian sanctions, which were initially introduced in 2014 over the conflict in Ukraine, citing the failure to implement the Minsk peace agreements.

Russia has been targeted by several rounds of sanctions inflicted by Brussels, Washington and their allies in light of Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014 and on the pretext of Moscow's alleged involvement in the Donbass conflict, a claim that Russia has repeatedly refuted.

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