EU extends Russia sanctions by another 6 months

The European Union (EU) has extended sanctions against Russia, by another six months, as the US also imposed further bans on several Russian individuals and entities.

EU leaders agreed on Thursday to extend economic sanctions, which target whole sectors of the Russian economy including its oil businesses, said a spokesperson for the European Council President Charles Michel, on Friday.

“Agreement on ... the rollover of the sanctions against Russia,” said spokesman Barend Leyts.

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The bloc reached a political agreement at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

The punitive measures will be formally prolonged until July 31, 2021, with leaders considering the next rollover in June.

Brussels initially imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 over the conflict in Ukraine and Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

Crimea rejoined Russia following a referendum where more than 90 percent of participants voted in favor of the move. The West brands the reunification as annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia.

Ever since, these sanctions have been repeatedly extended and prolonged. Moscow, in a measured response, imposed restrictions on food imports from EU states.

Siding with Ukraine, the United States also imposed its own measures on Russian individuals and companies.

Washington, on Thursday, imposed another set of sanctions against the leader of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

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The US Treasury Department announced the measures against Kadyrov, as well as five individuals and six Russia-registered legal entities with close ties to him.

Under the sanctions, the US has frozen their assets and banned them from entering the country.

Kadyrov has been the head of Chechnya since 2007. Washington accuses him of human rights abuses.

The Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, warned that the move will deepen the crisis in relations between the two world powers.

“The actions of the US administration are just another unfriendly and detrimental move against Russia which will deepen the crisis in bilateral relations,” he said.

“The allegations that Russian officials are responsible for human rights violations are groundless and beneath criticism," he added.

He said that through “destructive measures” Washington was trying to distract public attention from “comprehensive systemic problems inside the United States.”

Russia has repeatedly rejected “any illegitimate unilateral sanctions” and called for “returning to normal inter-state relations,” said the ambassador.

“We (have) received no answers to our proposals," Antonov added.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have undergone major challenges under the administration of President Donald Trump over the past four years.

Trump pulled the US out of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) and the Anti- Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia, citing alleged violations by Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly dismissed the allegations, warning that the INF demise could provoke another arms race between the world nuclear powers.

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