Russia on Saturday slammed the EU’s extension of sanctions over its annexation of Crimea as "blackmail" and vowed it would not be pressured into returning the peninsula to Ukraine

Russia on Saturday slammed the EU's extension of sanctions over its annexation of Crimea as "blackmail" and vowed it would not be pressured into returning the peninsula to Ukraine.
  
"Crimea and Sevastopol are an integral part of the Russian Federation. It's time to recognise this as a fact that cannot be changed with methods of economic and political blackmail," a statement by the Russian foreign ministry said.
  
Sanctions have "no prospects," the statement said, further criticising the EU's decision Friday as "discrimination" and comparing them with "historical examples of collective punishment of nations."