Estonian MFA official: No reason to free 2 Russian oligarchs from sanctions
There is no reason to remove Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the EU sanctions list, as France, Luxembourg and Slovakia had sought, MFA Deputy Secretary General Kerli Veski told ERR.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted on Tuesday the challenges of maintaining EU sanctions unanimity, as the removal of Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Friedman from the sanctions lists. Speaking at a press conference in New York, Zelenskyy emphasized this issue in discussions with European officials.
The decision to extend the sanctions for three years, rather than the initially proposed six months, was made after months of deliberation by EU ambassadors. Slovakia, France, and Luxembourg requested the exclusion of Usmanov and Friedman from the sanctions due to their violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Ukraine had imposed sanctions on the oligarchs and 254 others on October 19, 2022.
Among the sanctioned individuals were Friedman's Alfa Group partners – Petr Aven, German Khan, and Alexei Kuzmichov – along with prominent Russian business figures like Vladimir Lisin and Leonid Mikhelson. Sense Bank, formerly Alfa-Bank, and IDS Ukraine, a company linked to Friedman, have also faced Ukrainian intervention. The Ukrainian government has pursued legal action against Friedman's assets, including the nationalization of Sense Bank and a lawsuit in the High Anti-Corruption Court for the forfeiture of IDS Ukraine's assets.
Written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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