The decision to extend the EU sanctions against Russia for another six months entered into force

The decision made by the European Union to extend for another six months - until July 31, 2016 - sanctions against Russia, which were announced the day before , entered into force. The document on Tuesday was published in the official journal of the European Union .

As reported, the EU Council agreed on the extension of anti -Russian sanctions. The report indicated that the decision was made in connection with the understanding that the Minsk agreements to resolve the Ukrainian crisis will not be fully executed until December 31, 2015.

On December 18, the Committee of Permanent Representatives under the EU approved the extension of sanctions against Russia for another six months. The decision was agreed on Monday as part of a written procedure after approval at a meeting of the Council of Permanent Representatives of the EU member states.

As the Russian Foreign Ministry said, commenting on the EU decision, the fact that Brussels “links its sanctions” with the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass is “artificial and unreasonable”. "They are forced to state that instead of building constructive cooperation in counteracting the key challenges of our time, such as international terrorism, in the Eesovsky Brussels prefer to continue to play sanctions games," the foreign policy mission said.

In turn, the press secretary of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev Natalya Timakova said that the response measures of the Russian Federation in relation to European countries, which are valid until August 2016, until they extend. The new "antisancations" are also not planned yet, she said.