Brussels, 21/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 21 June, the member state ambassadors approved the six-month extension of the Ukraine conflict-related economic sanctions against Russia until 31 January 2017.
“Coreper [the permanent committee of representatives] has agreed to extend the restrictive measures, given Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, in order to assess the implementation of the Minsk agreements more”, a European source told EUROPE. The measures, which were adopted for the first time at the end of July 2014 (see EUROPE 11133) and have since been regularly extended, run until 31 July 2016.
The European source said that the Council was still had to adopt the decision but that there was not yet any indication of the adoption date. Although this could be done at the General Affairs Council on 24 June, it could also be done at the Council in July, or by written procedure, the source stated. Ahead of the adoption by the Council, France and the UK must inform their parliaments.
From Paris, where he was due to meet his French counterpart, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said he did not believe there was any alternative to the European sanctions, which are “the only instrument” available to exert pressure on Russia. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)