MOSCOW, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday new European Union sanctions banning investment in Crimea were "absolutely unacceptable" and amounted to discrimination against the Black Sea peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Kiev in March.

"Brussels should realise that Crimea and Sevastopol are an inseparable part of Russia," the ministry said in a statement. "We consider absolutely unacceptable any discrimination against the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol based on political reasons." (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, editing by Elizabeth Piper)