OREANDA-NEWS. Permanent representatives of the 27 EU member states agreed on a one-year extension of individual sanctions against former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage, while excluding from the black list the former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Energy Minister Eduard Stavitsky.

This was reported to a Russian media correspondent on Wednesday by a source in the EU Council. "The ambassadors agreed to extend the sanctions against Yanukovych and his entourage for a year, but excluded Azarov and Stavitsky from the list", he said.

Earlier it was reported that the permanent representatives of the 27 EU member states agreed on a six-month extension of individual sanctions against Russian citizens, which expire on March 15. This was reported to a Russian media correspondent on Wednesday by a source in the EU Council.

"At the morning meeting of the ambassadors, individual sanctions against individuals and legal entities of Russia were extended for another six months without discussion. Now the decision should be formally approved by the EU Council", he said.