EU renews sanctions on Russia for violation of territorial integrity

ANDthis package of sanctions expired today and its renewal was blocked several days ago because France and Luxembourg wanted to remove two Russian oligarchs, which had been blocked by Latvia.

The question was the Oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a steel producer who is allegedly used in the production of Russian tanks, and Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia's leading bankers.

France has requested that Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek citizen, be removed from the sanctions package under an agreement for the release of two French citizens who are detained in Azerbaijan.

Following that, Luxembourg also requested Fridman to be removed from the sanctions after the Russian banker opened an arbitration procedure against the country in which it demanded compensation of EUR 14 billion due to the freezing of its financial assets.

The Irish presidency indicates that the agreement reached today is a “difficult compromise” and implies the “withdrawal of some individuals from the list” of sanctions, without specifying which ones.

However, a diplomatic source indicated to Lusa that it is Usmanov and Fridman.

Latvia has already indicated that, in order to prevent the sanctions package from expiring, it has decided to abstain from this vote and to proceed with national sanctions to Usmanov and Fridman.

This sanctions regime, applied to Russia for violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, covers about 2,600 individuals and entities and includes freezing assets and prohibiting funds from being made available to sanctioned persons.

After intense negotiations that were concluded on the day that the sanctions package would expire if no agreement was reached, the Irish presidency states that, contrary to what was usual, the Member States agreed today that the sanctions package should be renewed for another three years instead of six months, to “strengthen stability and predictability”.

Thus, sanctions against Russia for violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity will now be in force until 22 September 2029.

The sanctions under discussion are different from the economic sanctions against Russia, which cover sectors such as energy, trade and finance and have recently been extended by the EU.

Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale in February 2022 and since then Kyiv has relied on EU support.