The EU Council on Monday, June 29, decided to prolong anti-Russian sectoral economic sanctions by six months.

"The Council today decided to renew the sanctions targeting specific economic sectors of the Russian Federation for a further six months, until 31 January 2021," the EU Council said in a communique.

EU leaders agreed at a videoconference on June 19 to renew the economic package of sanctions against Russia for a further six months following Germany and France's latest assessment of the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements.

The EU links renewing economic sanctions to an actual implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

Under the EU procedure, a political decision on economic sanctions adopted by an EU summit must be endorsed by the EU Council to take effect. The EU Council's resolution extending restrictive measures takes effect after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.