EU prolongs anti-Russian econ sanctions till January 31, 2019

BRUSSELS, Jul 5 (PRIME) -- The E.U. Council has prolonged its anti-Russian economic sanctions for six more months until January 31, 2019, the authority said in a statement on Thursday.

“This decision follows an update from President (of France Emmanuel) Macron and Chancellor (of Germany Angela) Merkel to the European Council of June 28–29, 2018 on the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which the sanctions are linked. The Council adopted this decision today by written procedure and, in line with the rule for all such decisions, unanimously,” the statement read.

On Wednesday, an E.U. official told PRIME that the prolongation will come into force on July 9 after the release of the official E.U. Journal.

In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated to their worse since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and further against the energy and banking sectors. In response, Russia limited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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