France and Slovakia are blocking the renewal of the European Union’s sanctions package against Russia, demanding the delisting of Uzbek-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. Without unanimity, EU ambassadors extended the measures by one week, pushing the deadline to September 22, 2026. Usmanov has been on the sanctions list since 2022 due to his close ties to Vladimir Putin, and his European assets were frozen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the potential easing of sanctions « immoral and self-destructive. » The current list covers approximately 3,000 individuals and entities, and a precedent of delisting under pressure would undermine the principle of the EU sanctions regime.
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