EU agrees to extend economic sanctions against Russia for another 6 months

The European Union agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia, which were set to expire at the end of July, for another six months.

The sanctions were imposed last year in response to Moscow's annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and providing support to rebel forces in Eastern Ukraine. The extension is expected to be ratified at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg next week, diplomats in Brussels announced Wednesday. Decisions on sanctions require unanimity, The New York Times reports, and although Moscow tried to woo Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary, they did not use their veto power.

Since the sanctions were imposed, Russia has said the measures would not seriously affect its economy or sway policy, and Reuters reports that finance minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday that the country had already taken into account the sanctions during economic planning.

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