The European Council has extended economic sanctions against Russia until July 31, 2018, EC statement said.

According to the statement, the decision came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron reported about the process of implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Minsk agreements have not been fully implemented. The European Council has extended the sanctions until July 31, 2018.

Sanctions restrict access to Russian majority state-owned financial institutions, their majority-owned subsidiaries and major Russian energy and defence companies to the European capital market, imposing an export and import ban on trade in arms and an export ban for dual-use goods to Russia. They also limit Russia's access to technologies that can be used for oil production and exploration.