EU extends sanction on Russia over Ukraine conflict

The European Union on Monday extended economic sanctions against Russia until January to keep pressure on Moscow over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, drawing a rebuke and a warning of retaliation from Russian officials.
An EU statement said the decision was taken without debate by the bloc’s foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg, in response to “Russia’s destabilising role in eastern Ukraine.”
The sanctions, along with US and other Western measures against Russia, have contributed to a softening of the Russian economy at a time when the price of oil that is crucial to its economic output also has fallen. The sanctions have also put a pinch on some of Russia’s key EU trading partners.
The sanctions include limits to access on some financial markets, a ban on certain technologies and exchanges between the bloc and Russia in energy and defense sectors. Enacted last July and reinforced in September, the sanctions had been due to expire in July.
They are now expected to expire on January 31 2016.