EU Removes Usmanov and Fridman From Sanctions List — SkimNews
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- The EU will remove sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, imposed after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, after France lobbied for Usmanov on "national security" grounds and Luxembourg pushed for Fridman, who is currently suing Luxembourg to release his frozen assets.
- Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the move "unacceptable," posting on X that "Moscow is celebrating because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans," and urging all EU states to impose national sanctions instead.
- Latvia initially vetoed the deal at a Monday vote of EU ambassadors but switched to abstention on Tuesday after securing a compromise that extends sanctions on roughly 3,000 other individuals and entities from a six-month to a three-year renewal cycle.
- As part of the compromise, France agreed to open talks with Latvia on joining its nuclear deterrence initiative and to strengthen its military presence in the Baltic state, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced.
- Latvia has already said it will impose its own national sanctions on both oligarchs; Fridman's business partner Pyotr Aven was stripped of Latvia's highest civilian honour in 2022 for failing to condemn the invasion, which the article links to Latvia's initial resistance.
- France's push for Usmanov's removal has been linked to a prospective prisoner release deal with Azerbaijan, according to reports cited in the article.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed the prospect of the delistings, claiming the EU's sanctions were illegal and that all Russians should be removed from the list.
Why it matters: France and Luxembourg broke ranks to delist two Putin-linked oligarchs, handing Moscow a propaganda win and proving that national priorities — France's Azerbaijan diplomacy and Latvia's nuclear-deterrence ambitions — can override Ukraine-facing unity. The package also locks in the remaining ~3,000 designations for three years rather than six months, ending the cycle that forced recurring EU fights.
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