U.S. President Barack Obama extended Executive Order 13660 on Wednesday, which outlines the sanctions against certain Russian individuals and entities over Moscow’s role in the Ukrainian crisis.
Moscow said it regrets Washington’s decision to extend the sanctions against for another year.
In addition, the European Union has also decided to extend its sanctions on 149 Russian and Ukrainian nationals that it sees as responsible for the conflict in Ukraine for a further six months. The list includes senior Russian politicians and close allies of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Relations between Moscow and the West deteriorated sharply over Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine almost two years ago. The U.S., EU, and some other countries imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia’s energy, banking, and defense industries.
Moscow responded then with a EU and U.S. food import ban. It’s not clear if Russia will respond again with any counter measures, Russians are divided over how the government should react.