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Heads of state and government of the European Union's member states have decided to prolong economic sanctions against Russia for another six months.

"Decision: [the] EU unanimously prolongs economic sanctions against Russia given zero progress in implementation of [the] Minsk agreements," President of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted on Thursday evening.

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As UNIAN reported earlier, the EU in 2014 imposed economic sanctions against the Russian Federation aimed at specific sectors of its economy. In March 2015, the EU leaders decided to peg the sanctions to the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements on Donbas. After that, the EU has repeatedly extended these sanctions for a new six-month period.

The previous time when the European Council extended the economic sanctions associated with the banking, financial and energy sectors of the Russian Federation for non-compliance with the Minsk agreements was on June 29, 2018. These sanctions are expiring on January 31, 2019.