Russian PM urges countermeasures against EU sanctions extension

Russia will adopt responsive measures to retaliate against the decision of the European Union (EU) to extend sanctions against Moscow till January, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.

At a government meeting, Medvedev asked his deputy, Sergei Prikhodko, to "prepare my appeal to the president with a proposal to extend the presidential decree on restrictive measures by Russia for this period of time," according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

He also ordered drafting a government decree to establish a list of products that would be affected by Russia's countermeasures.

The EU announced earlier in the day that it has decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia to Jan. 31, 2016, to ensure Moscow's full implementation of the Minsk agreement reached in February on the Ukraine crisis.

The restrictive measures, introduced in response to Russia's alleged role in the Ukraine crisis, were imposed in July 2014 and reinforced in September of the same year.

The sanctions targeted certain exchanges with Russia in the financial, energy and defense sectors and dual-use goods.

In August 2014, Moscow imposed a year-long embargo on food imports from Western countries in response to EU and U.S. sanctions.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations over the Ukraine crisis, stressing that Western sanctions are counterproductive. Enditem