European Union extends economic sanctions against Russia for another 6 months

(Baonghean) - The European Union (EU) has extended sanctions against Russia over its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

European Council President Donald Tusk announced that economic sanctions against Russia will be extended for another six months.

European Council President Donald Tusk said at a summit on December 14 that 28 EU member state leaders had agreed on economic sanctions against Russia.

Accordingly, European Union leaders have agreed to extend the bloc's economic sanctions against Russia for another six months. This decision is expected to be officially approved by the European Council in the next few days.

"The EU has agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia for its failure to implement the Minsk Agreements," EU President Donald Tusk announced on Twitter after a conference in Brussels.

The EU began imposing sanctions on Russia after the crisis in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Specifically, the EU accused Russia of being involved in the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and separatists in the east of the country, which killed 10,000 people.

Since then, EU leaders have renewed sanctions against Russia every six months. The sanctions target the financial, energy and defense sectors.

Accordingly, European companies are not allowed to do business or invest in Russia's energy and defense sectors while financial relations are also strictly limited.

European companies are not allowed to borrow or lend money to Russia's five major state banks for more than 30 days. Exports of certain energy-related equipment and technology to Russia also require approval from EU governments.

Russia has also responded to EU sanctions with an import ban on processed food products from the EU. The embargo from Russia has also been extended several times corresponding to the EU's move for a period of 6 months.

Sharing the news of Russia's economic sanctions being extended, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed his welcome on his Facebook account: "This is an important political decision by EU leaders to continue economic sanctions against Russia for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and refusing to stop aggressive acts against our country."

Meanwhile, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel expressed concern about the negative impacts on Europe of sanctions against Russia.

He fears that if the Russian economy goes down because of the ban, it will have serious consequences for German industry and banks in Europe, especially French and Austrian banks that have close cooperation with Russia.

Nhat Minh

(According to NY Times)