The sanctions, which hamper Russian imports into the EU and Russian banks' access to European markets, were set to expire on January 31, 2018. They were adopted in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and its support for separatists in the east of the country.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called on their EU partners to retain sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to fully implement the Minsk accord for peace in the region.
The sanctions were first instituted in July 2014 after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine. Western countries and Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of using a Russian rocket to shoot the plane down - an accusation Russia denies.
