European Union drops billionaires Usmanov and Fridman from sanctions list

Andrii Sybiha: Andrii Sybiha is Ukraine's Foreign Minister. He criticized the EU decision to delist Usmanov and Fridman as unjustifiable and called for individual member states to impose their own restrictions. His statement highlighted concerns over the impact on unified action against Russia. European Union: The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states that coordinates foreign policy and sanctions measures. EU envoys agreed to a compromise deal on sanctions renewal that removes two Russian billionaires from the list. The process required navigating differing positions among member states including France and Luxembourg. Alisher Usmanov: Alisher Usmanov is a Russian-Uzbek metals tycoon and founder of USM Holdings. He was sanctioned by the EU in 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has now been removed from the sanctions list following advocacy by France. The delisting was linked to diplomatic pressures involving Azerbaijan. Andris Kulbergs: Andris Kulbergs is the Prime Minister of Latvia. Latvia abstained in the EU sanctions vote as the last holdout but will pursue its own national sanctions against the delisted individuals. Kulbergs noted ongoing diplomatic discussions with France on security cooperation. Mikhail Fridman: Mikhail Fridman is a Russian billionaire with business ties including to Latvia. He was placed under EU sanctions in 2022 and has been delisted in the recent agreement after Luxembourg pushed for his removal. Fridman has pursued legal claims against Luxembourg. National Measures: Individual EU countries indicated they would consider their own sanctions in response to the EU-level outcome. Sanctions Process: EU sanctions require unanimous agreement among all member states for approval or renewal. Diplomatic Compromise: The agreement balanced requests for delistings from certain member states with an extended renewal of measures against other sanctioned parties.