⚡️🇪🇺🇷🇺🇺🇦 — EU countries failed Monday to finalise a deal that involved lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, with negotiations to continue in Brussels. Member states had reached a provisional compromise to remove the pair from the blacklist in exchange for extending sanctions on almost 3,000 other Russian individuals and entities—including Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov—for three years instead of the usual six months. However, the package failed to secure final approval due to a last-gasp objection lodged by Latvia — AFP.

➡️ EU ambassadors will meet again at 0600 GMT on Tuesday to hammer out an agreement before the sanctions regime officially lapses late Tuesday. France and Slovakia initiated the push to delist Russian-Uzbek billionaire Usmanov, citing undisclosed "national security" concerns which The Financial Times reports may be linked to a potential prisoner release deal involving French nationals held in Azerbaijan. This prompted Luxembourg to demand the simultaneous removal of banking magnate Fridman, who is currently suing the country for 15 billion euros ($17 billion) over his frozen assets.

➡️ More hawkish EU nations, including Poland and the Baltic states, fiercely opposed the easing, arguing that pressure on Moscow must be increased. While Ukraine reacted furiously to the potential delisting of the two prominent businessmen, who were added in 2022 for providing significant revenues to the Kremlin, multiple diplomats emphasized there is widespread consensus that the broader sanctions regime must not be allowed to expire.

➡️ Supporting this position, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged member states during an UNGA side-meeting in New York to maintain the restrictions, stating: "Sanctions are a core pillar of our response to Russia's war" to deprive Moscow of funding. Kallas added that officials aim to finalize the rollover swiftly, emphasizing that "we need to have this stability" by keeping the sanctions framework active for an extended duration.

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