EU drops sanctions on Russian billionaires Usmanov and Fridman in deal to secure three-year rollover (UPDATED)
The European Union has removed Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list as part of a compromise that secured a three-year extension of restrictions on roughly 3,000 other individuals and entities.
EU envoys agreed to the deal on Sept. 22, with Latvia - the last country opposing the compromise - ultimately abstaining. EU sanctions require unanimous approval from member states, and the decision was formally adopted later on Tuesday.
The three-year extension is significantly longer than the usual six-month renewal. In exchange, EU countries agreed to delist Usmanov and Fridman, both of whom had been under EU sanctions since 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
France had pushed for Usmanov’s removal, citing national security concerns, while Luxembourg sought the delisting of Fridman, who has filed a $16 billion arbitration claim against the country.
Reuters previously reported that France had come under pressure from Azerbaijan, where at least two French nationals are being held. European diplomats told the news agency that Paris had privately accused Baku of using Usmanov’s delisting as “blackmail” over the detained French citizens. Azerbaijan has rejected that characterization.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the decision to remove the two billionaires from the sanctions list “shameful and unjustifiable” and urged individual EU countries to impose national restrictions on them.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said Riga would consider doing so. He also said France had agreed to open talks with Latvia on joining a French nuclear deterrence initiative.
UPDATED: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned French national Martin Ryan on Sept. 23, a day after the EU agreed to remove Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from its sanctions list.
Ryan was arrested in Azerbaijan in December 2023 and sentenced in March 2026 to 10 years in prison on espionage charges. France had pushed for Usmanov to be removed from the EU sanctions list, with diplomats previously saying Paris faced pressure from Azerbaijan over French nationals detained in the country. Azerbaijani officials denied exerting such pressure.
Aliyev's decree pardoned 20 people in total, citing factors including their personal circumstances, health and family situations. Neither side has said Ryan's release was part of an agreement linked to the lifting of sanctions on Usmanov.
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