EU to lift sanctions on two Russian oligarchs

Submission Statement: EU capitals have agreed to lift sanctions on two prominent Russian oligarchs as the price of a three-year extension of restrictions on thousands of other individuals and entities linked by the bloc to Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

The eleventh-hour decision to exempt Alisher Usmanov from curbs including an asset freeze and travel ban was demanded by France as part of a secret prisoner release deal involving Azerbaijan.

Luxembourg also insisted that Mikhail Fridman be dropped from the sanctions list. Fridman has been seeking $16bn in damages from the Grand Duchy in an arbitration claim for sanctions-related losses.

It required unanimous support from the EU’s 27 member states. The governments that initially opposed the delistings eventually relented, according to people familiar with the discussion