EU may extend sanctions against Russia on Friday

This is stated in the letter of President of the European Council Donald Tusk to the EU Heads of State and Government on the eve of the EU summit on December 17-18. "I want to inform you that I have asked the [Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union] to include the issue of extension of the sanctions against Russia by next six month in the agenda of the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe on Friday," Tusk noted. According to him, such a decision will comply with the political position of the EU, according to which the preservation of the sanctions against the Russian Federation is linked to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. As reported, the current EU’s sanctions against Russia are to end on January 31, 2016. German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes sanctions against Russia should be extended until the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on settling the eastern Ukraine conflict.