EU removes oligarchs from Russia sanctions list as deadline looms

Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek businessman, shakes hands with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2018. Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek businessman, shakes hands with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2018. European Union EU removes oligarchs from Russia sanctions list as deadline looms Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman delisted in what Ireland’s EU presidency called ‘a difficult compromise’ for the bloc

Prefer the Guardian on Google The EU has agreed to remove two Russian billionaires, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from its sanctions list, while extending restrictions on nearly 3,000 individuals and companies accused of supporting the war on Ukraine for the next three years.

With an end-of-Tuesday deadline looming to preserve the Russia blacklist, the EU’s 27 member states found a compromise that meant delisting the two oligarchs in spite of very few countries wanting this outcome. EU sanctions have to be approved unanimously.