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BRUSSELS, September 15. /TASS/. The extension by six months of the EU blacklist of Russian individuals and legal entities entered into force on Tuesday upon the publication in the EU Official Journal.
The blacklist includes 149 individuals and 37 legal entities which are subject to assets freeze and entry ban until March 15, 2016.
The EU says the restrictive measures come "in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
The political decision on extending the blacklist was made on September 2 at the COREPER session (Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union).
Moscow has repeatedly said that the Western sanctions introduced over the conflict in Ukraine are counter-productive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said "the fanning of confrontation and attempts at sanction pressures on Russia are a dead end.".