EU plans to extend Russia sanctions for another six months, reports say

The European Union will extend economic sanction against Russia for another six months, in spite of Russian president Vladmir Putin's newly cooperative stance in the fight against Isis.

News reports from Brussels said the US and several EU member states have agreed the six-month extension, but that a final decision will be taken next month.

The sanctions on Russia were extended by an additional six months on 22 June, in retaliation for Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. They were later reinforced in July and September 2014, targeting the country's financial, energy and defence sectors.

Just a few weeks before the current sanctions agreement comes to an end, a senior EU diplomat said a six-month extension was the option being expressed by "most member states", according to Brussels online newspaper EU Observer.

“There are still a few weeks to go, so let’s see what Vladmir Putin has in store for us,” the source said, alluding to suspicions about the recent blackout in Crimea after transmission towers in the adjoining Ukrainian region of Kherson were blown up.

Reuters previously reported that France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US had agreed the six-month extension during the G20 summit in Turkey.

While any final decision on the sanctions would likely be taken by the 28 EU leaders at December's summit, another EU source argued that leaders had not discussed sanctions yet but that it was widely felt that an extension was needed to "keep up pressure" on the agreements made during negotiations in Minsk in February.