BRUSSELS, June 25. /TASS/. Heads of states and governments of the European Union took a political decision at the two-day summit in Brussels to extend economic sanctions against Russia that expire at the end of July, a source in the delegation of one of European countries in the European Council told TASS on Friday.
"Yes, as usual the discussion focused on implementation of the Minsk accords [on settlement of the conflict in Ukraine’s east] as part of the discussion on Russia. All agreed that there has been no considerable progress. On the contrary, we have seen worrisome events on the Ukrainian-Russian border in recent months. That is why no one opposed the extension of sanctions for another six months," the source said.
Following the summit, the formal procedure will be launched and is planned to be completed in coming weeks, after which respective regulations will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the diplomat added.
In 2014, the European Union slapped sanctions on Russia over the events in Ukraine and Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Since then, these sanctions have been repeatedly extended and prolonged. Talks on the cancellation of visas and a new basic agreement on cooperation were put on hold, some Russian officials were prohibited from visiting EU countries and their assets were frozen. In addition, trading, financial and military restrictions were introduced. In response, Moscow banned food imports from EU states.