EU to extend economic sanctions against Russia for 6 months on Thursday – report

The decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia for six months will be taken on July 5 and will become effective next Monday, TASS quoted a European diplomatic source as saying on Wednesday, the eve of the EU summit. “The decision to extend sanctions will be made on Thursday. It will be published in the Official Journal of the EU on Monday, July 9, and will be effective since then,” the source said. The political decision to extend sanctions was made at the EU summit on June 28-29 in Brussels. It was noted that extension of sanctions was related to a lack of progress in implementing the Minsk agreements in eastern Ukraine.