EU capitals failed to extend one of the bloc’s sanctions programs against Russia after a disagreement over the inclusion of a controversial Russian tycoon, Politico reports.
After three rounds of talks on Monday — with breaks to allow consultations with national governments — EU ambassadors were unable to reach a unanimous agreement on rolling over the regime, which governs the asset freezes of about 3,000 individuals and companies.
With the sanctions regime set to expire Tuesday, ambassadors extended the deadline for a week “to allow additional time for member states to comprehensively examine proposals for the renewal,” a spokesperson for the Irish Council presidency said. The new deadline is 12 a.m. on Sept. 22.
Slovakia has demanded that the bloc remove two rich Russian businessmen from the sanctions list: Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. France is also backing the delisting of Usmanov.
Most other capitals were unwilling to consider delisting anyone while Russia is firing record numbers of missiles at Ukrainian civilian targets.
“Against the backdrop of rising hybrid threats and Russian drone attacks only 1 kilometer from the Polish border, it's hard to believe that France is actually asking for this,” said one diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss the confidential talks.
A French diplomat said that “we have a specific national security issue and wish to respond positively to international partners who have approached us regarding Mr. Usmanov.”
Another part of the discussion revolved around whether to extend the measures by six months, as has been customary since 2014, or renew them for 12 months. Slovakia is understood to be unwilling to back the longer period.
