BRUSSELS, December 16. /TASS/. Permanent representatives of the 27 member states of the European Union agreed on a six-month extension of economic sanctions against Russia, which expire on January 31, 2021, a source in the delegation of one of the European countries in the EU Council told TASS.

"Yes, the ambassadors have just agreed to extend the restrictive measures until July 31, 2021," the source said. According to the diplomat, this decision will be formally approved by the EU Council in the near future, after which it will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and come into force.

The EU summit on December 10 made a political decision to extend the EU sanctions against Russia until July 31, 2021.

In 2014, the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia in connection with the events in Ukraine and Crimea. The restrictive measures have been expanded and extended several times. Negotiations on a visa-free regime and a new basic cooperation agreement were suspended, a ban was introduced on entry to EU countries for officials from Russia, and their assets were frozen. Restrictive measures of a commercial, financial and military nature were also introduced. In response, Russia imposed a ban on the import of a number of food products from the EU countries.