During the summit in Brussels, the leaders of the European Union unanimously supported the extension of sanctions restrictions against Russia in the economic sphere, said the head of the European Council Charles Michel.
“EU leaders have unanimously agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia,” Michel wrote on Twitter, RIA Novosti reported.
According to him, the leaders of European countries called on Russia to take the implementation of the Minsk agreements as seriously as possible. Recall that the sanctions from the European Union have been in effect for seven years: the restrictions are directed against the financial, energy and defense sectors in Russia.
In addition, the EU imposed a ban on the import and export of weapons, and also limited Moscow’s access to a number of technologies and services for oil production and exploration. The sanctions were introduced in 2014 and are renewed every six months. The EU linked them to the “full implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
In turn, the Russian side has repeatedly stated that it acts only as a mediator in the process of resolving the conflict between Ukraine and the republics of Donbass. In addition, Moscow retaliated and embarked on a course of import substitution, emphasizing the inexpediency of “talking with Russia in the language of sanctions.”