Three countries got their demands to remove the oligarchs from the EU's sanctions against Russia through, giving the green light to the proposal, which was ultimately approved.
In an extraordinary meeting, the ambassadors of the EU countries were able to agree on an extension of the sanctions against the other 3,000 people accused of activities in support of the Russian war and the occupation of parts of Ukraine.
The decision to remove specific individuals from the sanctions was adopted, a spokesperson for the Irish EU presidency said, according to the AFP news agency.
The compromise involves an extension of the sanctions for 36 months, until September 22, 2029.
Latvia abstained
According to sources at AFP and the news site Politico, Latvia abstained so that the agreement could be finalized.
Several Baltic and Nordic countries are reported to have opposed the demands of France, Slovakia and Luxembourg regarding Usmanov and Fridman and have argued that it could prompt other countries to demand further relief, which prompted the EU to extend the sanctions period, which previously ran for six months.
Luxembourg is said to have wanted to remove Fridman after he sued the country for billions of euros over sanctions against him. The fact that the country removed him from the list sends "signals that sanctions can be avoided through blackmail," according to an EU diplomat AFP spoke to.
Ukraine: Moscow celebrates
Ukraine has reacted to the removal of two people, calling the decision "shameful and indefensible".
"Moscow is celebrating because they got what they wanted, to create a sense of security and that the EU was humiliated and a divided Europe," writes Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha on X.
"But there is a way to ruin Moscow's celebration. I urge all EU countries to announce their own national sanctions against these two individuals," he continues.
The current EU sanctions expired last week, but the Union moved the end date by a week to primarily discuss Usmanov.
