[The EU passes the extension of sanctions against Russia for up to three years] On September 22, after lengthy consultations, EU member states reached an agreement on the extension of sanctions against Russia on the 21st local time and agreed to extend relevant sanctions for three years. According to the agreement, the EU will extend the sanctions imposed on more than 3,000 Russian individuals and entities by 36 months, and will also remove two Russian entrepreneurs from the sanctions list. The extension of the sanctions is significantly longer than the usual six-month or 12-month renewal arrangements. The EU hopes that by extending the sanctions, it will avoid another deadlock on the renewal of sanctions due to differences in member states' positions.