Europe · updated 58m ago · 3 min read
Latvia Blocks EU Bid To Remove Alisher Usmanov And Mikhail Fridman From Sanctions
Latvia blocked proposed EU deal to delist Usmanov and Fridman in exchange for extending sanctions. The talks involved France and Luxembourg pushing for removal; EU ambassadors to rework.
How much to emphasise wider sanctions risk.
2 of 7 outlets skipped it: france acted after pressure claims tied to Azerbaijan and detained French nationals.
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Kyiv Post
“Latvia’s refusal therefore leaves the broader sanctions regime temporarily unresolved”Read the original ↗
Meduza
“Extending the sanctions requires the agreement of all 27 EU member states.”Read the original ↗
One outlet highlights wider regime uncertainty; another stresses procedural unanimity.
EU sanctions face a deadline
The European Union remained at an impasse on Tuesday, September 22, as France and Luxembourg demanded the removal of Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov and Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list while Latvia opposed the move. France pushed for the removal of Usmanov and Luxembourg pushed for the removal of Fridman, and the EU required agreement among all 27 member states by unanimity to lift sanctions against around 3,000 individuals and entities accused of supporting the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba protested that the removal of the two oligarchs “is unacceptable and would send a bad signal to Moscow at a time when pressure must be intensified,” and Kaja Kallas urged the 27 to maintain sanctions policy as the “heart” of European policy to pressure Moscow.
Latvia’s stance blocked the procedural path, and the EU’s objective was to extend sanctions for three years on nearly 3,000 individuals and entities related to the war in Ukraine, with the possibility that the measures could be lifted if unanimity was not reached by midnight. The dispute centered on whether the EU would keep sanctions as a “central pillar of our response to the Russian war” or whether it would remove the two names while renewing restrictions on the broader list.
Kyiv and Latvia resist
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said Latvia could not accept a proposed deal that would lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman while renewing restrictions on some 3,000 other Russia-linked individuals and entities for three years. Kulbergs framed the 36-month extension as “the right step,” but he said “the price for it must not be simply striking both individuals from the sanctions list,” and he said he would convene an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the issue. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the possibility that the EU would lift sanctions on businessmen considered close to the Kremlin, stating that the “removal from the list is unacceptable and sends the wrong signal to Moscow at a time when pressure must increase.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Latvia for “keeping the legal front against the war of aggression against Ukraine,” and he urged the bloc to keep Ousmanov and Fridman on the blacklist. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov asked for sanctions to be lifted for both Usmanov and Fridman and for all Russian businessmen and Russian citizens, while the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged member states to keep measures against Russia for the war in Ukraine.
What changes if delisting wins
The proposed compromise would lift sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman while renewing sanctions on some 3,000 other Russia-linked individuals and entities for three years, and the EU sanctions regime would be extended for an unprecedented 36 months. Euronews said ambassadors approved the compromise on Tuesday after two weeks of talks that brought the EU sanctions regime to the brink of collapse, and it said Latvia blocked the procedural move before conceding on Tuesday afternoon with a constructive abstention. Euronews reported that the sanctions list currently includes more than 2,600 people, organizations and entities accused of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, including President Vladimir Putin, and it said the lifting of measures against the two oligarchs provoked Kyiv’s anger.
Euronews also reported that Fridman filed a $16 billion compensation claim against Luxembourg due to the freezing of his assets, and it said Fridman has filed a $16 billion compensation claim against Luxembourg due to the freezing of his assets. Euronews quoted Zelensky saying, “The world does not need a political lifting of sanctions, but a swift and unconditional renewal of individual sanctions,” and it said the compromise would keep sanctions in place much longer while shielding them from future unexpected vetoes.