The European Union extended for a year on Friday a ban on business dealings with the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that has not been internationally recognized.
The sanctions, now prolonged until June 23, 2017, prohibit imports of products from Crimea, any investment there, cooperation in tourism services as well as exports of some goods and services to the peninsula.
The EU is due next week to extend until the end of 2016 its broader economic sanctions on Russia over its role in the crisis in Ukraine.