EU leaders unanimously vote for prolonging Russia sanctions: Council Head

Leaders of the EU countries have unanimously voted for the prolongation of sanctions against Russia during the EU summit in Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday.

"Massive consequences & severe cost will follow if Russia takes further military action against Ukraine. #EUCO leaders unanimously agreed to roll over economic sanctions against Russia. We call on Russia to keep its part of the bargain and proceed with Minsk implementation," Michel wrote on its Twitter page.

According to the EU Summit, the existing restrictions have a significant economic impact on the Russian economy and deprive Moscow of an access to sensitive technologies.

"Sanctions limit access to EU primary and secondary capital markets for certain Russian banks and companies and prohibit forms of financial assistance and brokering towards Russian financial institutions. The measures also prohibit the direct or indirect import, export or transfer of all defence-related material and establish a ban for dual-use goods for military use or military-end users in Russia. The sanctions further curtail Russian access to certain sensitive technologies that can be used in the Russian energy sector, for instance in oil production and exploration," the council said.

The sanctions on Russia were introduced over the 2014 crisis in Ukraine and Crimea's decision to rejoin Russia. The West has accused Moscow of meddling in Ukrainian internal affairs, while Russia has denied the accusations and introduced a food embargo on the states that targeted it with restrictive measures.