The European Union has agreed to remove Uzbek-Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov from its sanctions list after fraught negotiations that saw France link his delisting to a prisoner release with Azerbaijan, unsettling Brussels.
A second Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman, was also removed after Slovakia vetoed his continued listing, several diplomats told Euronews.
Luxembourg had argued that if Usmanov was removed, Fridman should be too. Fridman has filed a $16 billion claim against Luxembourg over his frozen assets.
As a result of the changes, the asset freeze and the travel ban will be lifted.
Ambassadors sealed the compromise on Tuesday after two weeks of drawn-out talks that brought the bloc’s sanctions regime to the brink of collapse.
Latvia held up the processon Monday, warning it was not the right time to ease pressure on Moscow. The Baltic country relented on Tuesday afternoon and opted for a constructive abstention, enabling the necessary unanimity.
As a way to offset the pain of delisting the two high-profile businessmen, the EU has extended its individual sanctions on Russia for an unprecedented 36 months.
Previously, the measures were renewed every six months, giving member states regular opportunities to seek concessions.
The sanctions list currently includes more than 2,600 people, organisations and entities accused of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, including President Vladimir Putin.
“Today’s decision to renew on a 36-month basis enhances the durability and predictability of the EU sanctions framework,” said a spokesperson for the Irish presidency of the EU Council, which chaired the talks.
The spokesperson admitted the resolution was “difficult”.
While the compromise keeps sanctions in place for much longer and shields them from unexpected vetoes in the future, the removal of two prominent Russian figures has enraged Kyiv, which vocally opposed the move.
As negotiations neared the final stage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly called on the bloc to keep Usmanov and Fridman on the blacklist.
His message thanked Latvia for its opposition.
“The world needs not a political delisting, but timely and unconditional rollover of individual sanctions, until Moscow engages in serious peace negotiations and takes concrete steps to end its war against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
“This is the shortest path to peace we all are striving for. Every Ukrainian family is counting on EU unity and solidarity.”
The appeals, though, failed to swing the balance in the room. Member states quickly realised that France had invested too much political capital and would refuse to give up its demand on Usmanov, regardless of the controversy.
“No one is happy about this,” a diplomat said. “But the consensus in the room was that it’s better to maintain the rest of the listings under the regime and make sure we don’t have to do this circus again any time soon.”
Uzbek-French deal
The EU sanctioned Usmanov in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing his “close ties” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and interests in “key sectors” of the Russian economy that provide “substantial” revenue to the state.
The 73-year-old businessman, whose fortune is estimated at $16.6 billion, has denied the allegations and challenged the sanctions.
Uzbekistan, alongside other Turkic states, has lobbied the EU institutions and several member states for two years to have Usmanov removed from the blacklist.
Euronews understands that Uzbek and French authorities reached a behind-the-scenes agreement under which Azerbaijan would release two French nationals from prison in return for Usmanov’s delisting.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would issue a pardon as part of the deal.
France has not confirmed the arrangement. French officials have only cited a “national security” issue and declined to provide further details, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the negotiations.
Since September 2024, Paris has warned against travel to Azerbaijan over the “risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair trial”.
“In the event of arrest or detention, respect for fundamental rights is not guaranteed,” the French foreign ministry says in a travel notice that remains in force.
Last year, an Azerbaijani court sentenced French water-management executive Anass Derraz to 12 years in prison for accepting a bribe in 2018 from an Azerbaijani-Russian businessman in connection with efforts to free an impounded yacht.
Earlier this year, French national Martin Ryan was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Azerbaijan for spying on the military and collecting secret information for the French government. Ryan and Paris strongly contested the charges.
France updated its travel advisory in April following Ryan’s sentence.
Maria Tadeo contributed reporting.