EU extends Russia sanctions over Ukraine.

    EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia for six more months.

     Earlier France and Germany complained that the Minsk peace deal for Ukraine was still not being fulfilled.
   According to reports, the Brussels summit is focusing on the crises in Europe's neighborhood, the destruction of Aleppo, the  exodus of Syrian refugees, migrant pressure from Africa and Ukraine's conflict with Russia.
   It would be recalled that Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014 triggered the first round of sanctions.
  They have been ratcheted up, targeting Russian arms exporters, banks and individuals - many of them close to President Vladimir Putin - blamed for the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine.