UPDATE3: EU prolongs anti-Russian sanctions until February 2018

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BRUSSELS/VIENNA, Jun 28 (PRIME) -- The E.U. has prolonged economic sanctions against Russia until January 31, 2018, the E.U. Council said on Wednesday.

“On June 28, 2017, the Council prolonged economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until January 31, 2018,” the statement said.

The decision follows an update from French President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the European Council of June 22-23, 2017 on the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which paved the way for the renewal of sanctions for a further six months, the Council said.

“The Council formalized this decision today by written procedure and, in line with the rule for all such decisions, unanimously.”

The Kremlin has reacted to the decision “negatively and with regret,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told PRIME.

The press secretary added that Russia will take retaliatory actions to the sanctions as “the reciprocity principle is still in place.”

Andrei Kelin, head of the European Cooperation Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said, “The sanctions have missed the goals they were created for: they have not changed Russia’s foreign policy and have had no impact on the situation around the Ukrainian conflict.”

On June 22, European Council President Donald Tusk said the E.U. leaders agreed to prolong economic sanctions against Russia over the lack of implementation of the Minsk agreements.

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 prohibited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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