2022-01-14T14:39:00+02:00 World 2024-09-15T07:59:34+03:00

Ukrainian news

EU Extends Economic Sanctions Against Russia Due To Non-Implementation Of Minsk Agreements Until August 2022

EU Extends Economic Sanctions Against Russia Due To Non-Implementation Of Minsk Agreements Until August 2022

The European Union has extended economic sanctions against Russia due to non-implementation of the Minsk Agreements until August 2022.

The EU Delegation to Ukraine has said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"On January 13, the EU Council decided to extend the restrictive measures that now affect certain economic sectors of the Russian Federation for six months - until July 31, 2022. The decision of the EU Council was taken based on the results of the latest assessment of the status of implementation of the Minsk Agreements (which was originally supposed to take place until December 31, 2015) held by the European Council on December 16, 2021," the statement says.

It is also noted that the current sanctions, first introduced on July 31, 2014, act in response to Russia's steps to destabilize the situation in Ukraine.

They restrict access to the EU primary and secondary capital markets for individual Russian banks and companies, and also prohibit forms of cash assistance and brokerage activities for Russian financial institutions.

These sanctions also prohibit the direct and indirect import, export, or movement of any defense materials, and prohibit dual-use items for military use or for end-users in Russia associated with the military.

They further restrict Russia's access to certain sensitive technologies that could be used in the Russian energy sector, such as oil production and exploration.

"When assessing the state of implementation of the Minsk Agreements, held at the meeting of the European Council, which took place on December 16 last year, EU leaders called for the encouragement of diplomatic efforts and supported the Normandy Format in achieving the goal of full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Due to the fact that Russia has not fully implemented these agreements, the leaders of the European Union unanimously decided to extend the economic sanctions against the country.

In addition to economic sanctions, the EU has introduced various types of restrictive measures in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the deliberate destabilization of Ukraine.

These include: diplomatic activities, individual restrictive measures (asset freezes and travel restrictions), and specific restrictions on economic relations with Crimea and Sevastopol.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in July, the EU extended economic sanctions against Russia due to non-implementation of the Minsk Agreements until February 2022.