Russia extends EU food ban in response to prolonged sanctions

Moscow July 1: Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prolonging until the end of 2018 an embargo on perishable foodstuffs originating from the European Union.

The decision taken by Putin on Friday came one day after the EU prolonged, for a period of six months, sweeping economic sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's role in the ongoing unrest in eastern Ukraine and its failure to uphold its end of a peace deal in that region, Efe news reported.

"The EU has decided to extend its anti-Russia sanctions. Russia will extend its response measures through 2018," said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the wake of Brussels' decision on Thursday.

The list of banned EU food products includes fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products.

Meanwhile, the Brussels sanctions on Russia restricts the country's access to EU markets and focus particularly on state-owned oil and defence sectors.

Senior EU officials have accused Russia of failing to implement stipulations in the so-called Minsk agreement, which seeks to de-escalate the ongoing conflict between pro-Moscow separatists and the Ukrainian army in Ukraine's Russian borderland.