EU to renew Russia sanctions

EU President Donald Tusk announced yesterday that the EU has decided to renew its economic sanctions on Russia, imposed in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, for 6 months. They are currently due to expire on 1 August 2017.

These “phase 3” sanctions target Russia’s financial, energy, and defence sectors, restrict trade in dual-use goods and some Russian banks’ access to EU capital markets. The EU has said sanctions on Russia should continue until Russia complies with the Minsk agreements.