EU headed towards six-month extension of Russia sanctions, Spain says

Brussels (dpa) - The European Union is likely to prolong economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Wednesday."There is a general consensus to go with six," Garcia-Margallo told journalists in Brussels on the margins of a meeting with his NATO counterparts. "We are on board."But it was not clear if the approach has secured unanimous support, which is needed for EU sanctions to be extended.The economic sanctions against Russia were first instituted in July 2014, in reaction to Moscow‘s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The measures, which aim to hamper Russian imports and Russian banks‘ access to European capital markets, have severely strained relations between Brussels and Moscow.They are among the most controversial steps taken to influence Moscow‘s course in Ukraine, having inflicted economic pain not only on Russia, but also on the 28-country EU.The bloc has linked the sanctions to a ceasefire deal for eastern Ukraine, which was supposed to be implemented by the end of year. But violations persist."How can we trust if we can‘t see the simple things happening?" Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Tuesday during a think tank event in Brussels."What is at stake in the Ukraine crisis is really the post-Cold War security order in Europe," Daniel Fried, the coordinator for sanctions policy at the US Department of State, added. "The stakes are high."The United States has also imposed sanctions on Moscow. The EU‘s economic measures are currently due to expire on January 31.