Overview
- EU diplomats report the bloc has approved removing Alicher Ousmanov and Mikhaïl Fridman from its sanctions list while renewing the wider package that targets almost 3,000 people and entities tied to the war in Ukraine.
- The decision required unanimous consent by the 27 member states and exposed sharp divisions, with at least one government (reported as Latvia) publicly blocking the deal during talks and prompting last‑minute bargaining.
- France formally asked for Ousmanov’s delisting on grounds it described as national security, and press reports link Paris’s push to wider diplomatic aims including alleged prisoner‑release negotiations in Azerbaijan.
- As part of the compromise, ministers agreed to extend the sanctions renewal window from six months to as long as 36 months to reduce recurrent deadline standoffs that risk lifting measures by default.
- Ukraine and several EU partners condemned the delistings as unacceptable and warned the move could set a precedent that weakens collective leverage on Moscow and encourages bilateral trade‑offs in future EU policy decisions.