BRUSSELS, December 22. /TASS/. Russia’s trade with the European Union dropped by about 30% in the first nine months of 2015 due to the European sanctions and falling oil prices, Russia’s Permanent Representative at the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said on Tuesday, commenting on the decision of the Council of the European Union to extend anti-Russian sanctions till July 31, 2016.

"I would cite a rough figure that in the first nine months of 2015 our trade with the European Union dropped by 30%," he told Russian journalists. "Of course, we can dwell for hours on how much of this drop could be attributed to the European Union’s unilateral restrictive measures, and what can be explained by the falling oil prices. I think the latter factor had a bigger impact on our trade, and not only with the European Union countries."