EU ‘to extend sanctions’ against Russia in December

The European Union will extend its existing economic sanctions on Russia next month, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday. Tusk will chair a summit of EU leaders on December 13-14, which is due to roll over the bloc’s measures against Russia’s defense, energy and banking sectors for another year over “Moscow’s role” in Ukraine. “Europe is united in its support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December,” Tusk told reporters in Argentina, where the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies were meeting. Tusk described Russia’s “use of force” against the Ukrainian Navy vessels as “totally unacceptable.” The EU first slapped sanctions on Russia over Ukraine in 2014.