The European Union’s top diplomats have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia by six months to keep pressure on Moscow over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Ambassadors from the 28 member states agreed unanimously on Tuesday to prolong the sanctions until 31 January 2017. The EU wants more time to assess whether Russia is abiding by peace agreements signed at Minsk aimed at bringing peace to war-hit eastern Ukraine.
The decision still has to be approved by EU ministers or leaders. This step, largely a formality, may come as early as next week at a summit.
The union imposed sweeping sanctions against swaths of the Russian economy in July 2014 in response to Russia’s arming of the rebels in eastern Ukraine and failure to cooperate in the investigation over the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines jet MH17, which killed 298 people. The sanctions, targeting Russian banks, energy companies and arms makers, were tightened up in September 2014.
Despite a ceasefire agreement signed in Minsk last February, fighting continues in Ukraine’s breakaway eastern regions. In the past few days independent monitors at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe have reported shelling, bursts of machine gun fire and explosions from undetermined sources, from various places in the war-stricken regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Heavier fighting has led to several deaths on both sides in recent weeks.
An earlier round of international sanctions were imposed against senior Russian officials linked to the illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
The decision to extend economic sanctions comes as cracks appear in Europe’s united front on Russia. Italy, Greece and Hungary have questioned the need for extending sanctions against Russia. Last week the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, had a series of jokey exchanges with Vladimir Putin, at a packed summit of business executives and government officials at the St Petersburg economic forum.
The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, also attended the event, which is known as Russia’s mini Davos, where he said he hoped to “build a bridge”.
Expectations are growing that EU sanctions will be lifted in 2017. Some diplomats in Brussels speculate that a Brexit could hasten their demise, as the UK has been one of the strongest voices for sanctions.
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