EU consensus on Russia sanctions stalled by Greek objections, our Brussels correspondent reports:
BRUSSELS -- EU diplomats say ambassadors of the 28-nation bloc have failed to reach consensus on new sanctions targeting Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis and the extension of current sanctions due to objections from Greece.
EU ambassadors met on January 28 in Brussels to discuss fresh punitive measures against Russian officials, companies, and Moscow-backed separatists and the extension of the current sanctions until December.
But EU diplomats told RFE/RL that they were unable to reach an agreement because Greek officials opposed the text of the proposed conclusions.
Consensus among all EU member states is necessary to approve new sanctions or to extend the current ones.
The ambassadors are set to reconvene early on January 29 in a bid to secure an agreement on possible Ukraine-related sanctions ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers later that day.
The office of new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras this week complained that it was not consulted about EU leaders' January 27 statement calling for further "restrictive measures" against Russia.
Here's some more sanctions news from RFE/RL's news desk:
BRUSSELS -- According to a draft statement by the EU, the asset freezes and travel bans imposed on dozens of Russians, Russian entities, and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula will be extended until the end of 2015.
In the document, which was leaked ahead of an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on January 29, the EU says that "in view of the worsening situation [in eastern Ukraine], the [EU] council agrees" to extend the sanctions until December.
The document also calls on EU officials to present a proposal on "additional listings" to the list of sanctions within one week.
It adds that the extension and any new listings to the sanctions list are designed to ensure "a swift and comprehensive implementation of the Minsk agreements, which were signed by Ukrainian, Russian, and separatist officials in September and aimed at ending hostilities and leading to the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the line of contact."
An earlier version of the draft document had said sanctions would be extended until September.
With reporting by Reuters
!!! BREAKING !!!
According to a draft EU statement, the asset freezes and travel bans imposed on dozens of Russians and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine due to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula will be extended until the end of this year, Reuters reports.
More to follow...