The European Union came down to the wire this week in extending its sanctions regime against Russia, narrowly avoiding a lapse by giving in to demands from France and Luxembourg. The two countries insisted on removing two Russian businessmen from the bloc’s sanctions list as a condition for their support.
Just hours before the deadline, representatives from the EU’s 27 member states agreed to renew sanctions targeting roughly 3,000 individuals and organizations accused of backing Russia’s war against Ukraine. But metals magnate Alisher Usmanov, who also holds Uzbek citizenship, and banking entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman will now be spared from the restrictions, according to diplomatic sources cited by the French news agency AFP.
Both men were originally added to the sanctions list shortly after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the EU arguing that their business empires provided significant financial support to the Kremlin.
Latvia, which had strongly opposed dropping the two names, ultimately agreed to abstain rather than block the deal, allowing the broader sanctions package to move forward. Ukraine, meanwhile, condemned the exemptions as shameful, arguing they undermine the unity and credibility of Western pressure on Moscow.
Read the full original report for more details.
Source: <![CDATA[UE exime a oligarcas rusos de sanciones; exigencias de Francia y Luxemburgo]]> (RSS::excelsior.com.mx – Portada).
Image: Keith Williamson, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).