On Tuesday, EU diplomats said that representatives of the member states had agreed to remove two billionaires from the sanctions list concerning Russia and extend the sanctions against the remaining 3,000 individuals and legal entities for another three years, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Earlier, EU representatives had already agreed to remove Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman in exchange for extending the sanctions regime for three years; however, Latvia remained the last country that had not given its consent during this exceptionally difficult process.
The EU has not reached an agreement on sanctions against Fridman and Usmanov22.09.26, 15:57
The publication notes that approval of sanctions requires unanimity among all EU countries; previously, decisions on sanctions against Russian individuals and companies were reviewed and extended every six months.
At the beginning of this month, France surprised other EU members by insisting that Russian-Uzbek metallurgical magnate Alisher Usmanov be exempted from sanctions on national security grounds. Later, Luxembourg made a similar demand regarding Mikhail Fridman, who initiated a $16 billion lawsuit against the country.
Context
On September 21, the media reported that the European Union would lift sanctions against Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman.
It later became known that, under the proposal, sanctions against Usmanov and Fridman would be lifted, but sanctions against approximately 3,000 other individuals and organizations linked to Russia would be extended for three years.
At the same time, Latvia opposed lifting the restrictions.
Reminder
The European Union announced new sanctions against the Russian Federation following the "elections" to Russia's State Duma, including in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.