Eigen RadarGeopolitics
Archive
Analysis

EU drops Usmanov and Fridman from the Russia sanctions list

POLITICO reports that the EU removed Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its Russia sanctions list while keeping the remaining names for three years, and that Latvia abstained. France pressed Usmanov's removal on national-security grounds, and Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the delisting shameful. The BBC reports the same two removals and Kyiv's objection that the move sent Moscow the wrong signals.

Geopolitics··Night
In a bright wood-panelled chamber, two ornate chairs are pulled back from a long table while officials sit farther down with their backs to the camera.

Who left the list

POLITICO reports that the EU removed Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman and kept the remaining names for three years. Latvia abstained. France pressed for Usmanov's removal on national-security grounds. Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the delisting shameful. The BBC's headline is Ukraine's anger at the same decision. Its account names Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, describes both as having close ties to President Putin, and says Kyiv said the move sent Moscow the wrong signals. The two pages agree on the names that left. The political reading of the signal is Kyiv's, as both record it.[1], [2]

What stays attributed to one desk

The three-year renewal of the remaining names, Latvia's abstention and the French national-security argument are in POLITICO's account. A Euronews report on the same decision adds a prisoner-release claim involving Azerbaijan and a figure for Fridman's wealth. Those extra details stay out of this account.[1]

The objection Kyiv stated

Sybiha's word, shameful, is POLITICO's report of the Ukrainian minister. The BBC's formulation is that Kyiv said the delisting sent Moscow the wrong signals. Both are objections to the same vote. Neither page says the two men were found uninvolved in the conduct that put them on the list. The news is the removal, the renewal of everyone else, and the objection.[1], [2]

References

  1. News sourcePOLITICOEU capitals agree to drop Usmanov and Fridman from Russia sanctions↩1↩2↩3
  2. News sourceBBCUkraine anger as the EU removes two Russian oligarchs from the sanctions list↩1↩2
Chip wars and the supply chainRussia-Ukraine warEnergy transition and climate

More analysis from this desk

View all Brief analyses from the Geopolitics desk →