EU foreign ministers decided to renew sanctions against Russia over the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

The decision extends the restrictive measures targeting financial investments and tourism and blocks the import of goods from Crimea and Sevastopol until June 23, 2023.

The bloc also maintains the ban on European telecommunications, transport, and energy companies to export goods and services to local firms.

“The EU does not recognize and continues to condemn the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as a serious violation of international law”, - the Council of the European Union said in a statement announcing the extension of sanctions.

The current measures are part of the bloc’s different sanction regimes that have been imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.