EU faces backlash after lifting sanctions on Russian billionaires

The European Union faced a growing backlash on Wednesday for lifting sanctions on two Russian billionaires, with some of its members saying the move undermined a pillar of support for Ukraine’s war effort and that it signalled the bloc would ‌bow to blackmail.

Following pressure from France and despite pleas by Ukraine, the EU agreed on Tuesday to end asset freezes and travel bans on Russian-Uzbek metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, co-founder of one of Russia’s biggest conglomerates.

France privately told partners that Azerbaijan was using Usmanov’s sanctions case to pressure Paris over two French citizens held there, three diplomats told Reuters.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday pardoned a French national jailed for espionage, a move that Paris said was a “humanitarian gesture”.

France’s push to lift sanctions on Usmanov prompted Luxembourg to demand the same treatment for Fridman, who has launched a $16-billion claim against it for freezing his assets.

Bill Browder, a British financier and ⁠opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said “every sanctioned Russian oligarch” would now start working with “tinpot dictatorships around the world” to gain leverage to get sanctions lifted.

“France just opened one helluva Pandora’s box,” he posted on X.

Other governments felt they had little choice but to accept France’s demand, which Paris linked to national security, in return for the renewal of Russia-related sanctions on about 3,000 other people and organisations for the next three years, diplomats said.

Diplomats from multiple countries said they hoped the long renewal period would prevent others making a similar push any time soon. France was able to push through its demand partly because the sanctions were about to expire.

Within the EU, some of the most strident criticism came from the Baltic States. ​Latvia initially blocked the move before agreeing to abstain.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Reuters during the UN General Assembly in New York that the move sent a “very bad signal at a wrong time, when Russia is actually putting more pressure on Ukraine”.

EU diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions, said discontent about the move was widely shared ‌across the ⁠27-nation bloc.- Reuters

You can now read the *Ghanaian Times* and *The Spectator* newspapers digitally on [TimesNewsPlus](https://timesnewsplus.com/newspapers).

#GhanaianTimes #TimesNewsPlus

Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q

The post EU faces backlash after lifting sanctions on Russian billionaires appeared first on Ghanaian Times.