A sanction measure that was supposed to expire on September 15 has been extended by another three years, after being postponed for seven days.
Behind this, there has been a intense internal struggle that has lasted over a week. Several EU diplomats said that the 27 member states of the EU ultimately agreed to extend sanctions while exempting two Russian billionaires—Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman—from the sanctions.
This decision prevented the entire sanctions measure from becoming ineffective after midnight on September 22. However, some EU diplomats believe that this action sets a dangerous precedent, with sanctions negotiations turning into a battlefield where national interests compete with each other.
Ukraine also criticized this severely, calling it "shameful".
On September 22 local time, the Council of the European Union announced in its official website that it would extend sanctions against individuals and entities that " undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence" for 36 months, until September 22, 2029.
Screenshot of the EU Council official website
Currently, the relevant measures apply to over 3,000 individuals and entities. These measures include travel restrictions on relevant individuals, freezing of assets belonging to these individuals and entities within the EU, as well as a ban on providing financial or other economic resources to the sanctioned parties.
Meanwhile, the Council of the European Union decided to remove three individuals, one entity, and three other deceased persons from the sanctions list. The statement did not specify the exact individuals and entities that were removed.
According to foreign media such as the European edition of 'Political News Network', 'Ukraine Truth Newspaper', and 'European Dynamics', several EU diplomats revealed that the three individuals removed from the sanctions list include Usmanov and Friedmann. The identity of the third person is still unknown, but there are indications that their removal from the sanctions list occurred as a result of a successful legal challenge.
This sanctions list was originally due to expire on September 15th. On the 14th, a spokesperson from Ireland, the EU rotating chair country, announced that due to failure to reach an agreement on extending the sanctions against Russia for six months, foreign diplomats from various EU countries had postponed the expiration date of the list to September 22nd.
This unexpected standoff was triggered by a sudden move by France earlier in September—calling for the cancellation of sanctions against Usmanov, citing “national security issues”.
As soon as France spoke, Slovakia and Luxembourg followed suit, requesting the removal of Friedman from the sanctions list. Slovakia stated that if Usmanov is de-escalated from sanctions, Friedman should also be removed from the EU sanctions list.
