Key facts
- The EU will remove Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list.
- France lobbied for Usmanov's delisting, citing national security concerns.
- Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the delisting 'shameful and unjustifiable.'
- The EU extended sanctions on approximately 3,000 other individuals and entities for three years.
- Latvia initially opposed the deal but agreed to an abstention as a compromise.
- A French national, Martin Ryan, was released from detention in Azerbaijan on September 23.
The European Union is reportedly set to remove Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list, a decision that has prompted strong criticism from Ukraine. France had actively campaigned for Usmanov's delisting, citing national security concerns, and reports suggest this initiative may be linked to the release of a French national detained in Azerbaijan.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiha, described the move as "shameful and unjustifiable," arguing that it sends a signal of impunity to Moscow and creates division among European nations. He urged EU member states to impose their own national sanctions on the two individuals, a step Latvia has indicated it will take.
Usmanov, who founded the USM Holding company, was described by the EU as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin." Fridman, a Russian-Israeli citizen born in Ukraine, is a founder of the Alfa Group investment conglomerate and was considered a "top Russian financier and enabler of Putin's inner circle."
The EU's decision involved a compromise where sanctions on nearly 3,000 other individuals and entities supporting the war in Ukraine will be extended for three years, a shift from the previous six-month renewal period. Latvia, which had initially opposed the delisting of Usmanov and Fridman, ultimately abstained from the vote after reaching a compromise that included discussions on joining a French nuclear deterrence initiative and strengthening military presence in Latvia.