France has joined Slovakia in demanding the removal of Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the European Union's (EU) sanctions list.
Modern.az reports that "Euronews" published this information, citing four European diplomats.
It was noted that official Paris's position has caused serious dissatisfaction in a number of EU countries and could complicate negotiations on extending sanctions against Russia. Slovakia has been trying for several years to remove A. Usmanov and another Russian businessman, Mikhail Fridman, from the sanctions list. Bratislava also supports maintaining the six-month extension period for individual sanctions.
According to a European diplomat, France's position has caused serious dissatisfaction in other EU countries, especially at a time when hybrid threats are increasing in Europe. The diplomat suggested that Paris's initiative might be mainly due to economic motives and stated that a number of countries do not understand this position.
It should be noted that the current EU sanctions regime covers more than 3,000 individuals and legal entities associated with Russia's military-industrial complex and considered to have contributed to the war in Ukraine. Individual sanctions expire on September 15. Therefore, EU countries must reach a unanimous decision by that date. Until now, individual sanctions have been extended every six months. Currently, the issue of increasing this period to 12 months is being discussed. The EU's sectoral sanctions have already started to be extended for one year in July.
It should be recalled that Alisher Usmanov has been under EU sanctions since 2022. The Russian billionaire, born in Uzbekistan, built his fortune through investments in metallurgy, mining, telecommunications, and technology. In the EU, he is considered to be linked to the Kremlin. A. Usmanov denies these claims.
