The ambassadors of the 28 European Union member-countries have agreed on extending, until Jan. 31, 2016 economic sanctions against Russia.The deadline would have expired in July.

A Latvian EU presidency source said on Wednesday that the six-month extension should allow time to assess the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement regarding Ukraine.

The agreement was signed in February and is in effect until the end of December.

The agreement to extend the deadline is expected to be signed next Monday in Luxembourg by the EU foreign ministers during their monthly meeting.

The agreement reached by ambassadors will be ratified without ministerial talks, reported the diplomatic source.
EU leaders might, however, discuss the issue during the summit to take place on June 25-26.

French foreign minister has announced that another foreign ministers’ meeting of the Normandy Quartet, namely Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany has been scheduled for June 23 in Paris. (AGI/NAN)