MFA on sanctions against Friedman and Usmanov: No concessions are permissible
Spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Heorhiy Tykhy said that any easing of sanctions against Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Friedman is unacceptable.
"Our position remains unchanged: no easing of sanctions is acceptable. And the people included on the EU's individual sanctions list are there for a reason – not just because someone took a dislike to them. It is because these are people who directly support Russian aggression against Ukraine and contribute to the continuation of this war. Therefore, they must remain on the sanctions list; this list must be expanded to include more names, and we must transition from updates every six months to updates every 12 months. And eventually, perhaps even less frequently," Tykhy said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is in close contact with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and other officials to resolve this issue.
The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said discussions on extending European sanctions against Usmanov and Friedman have been postponed by a week, but "we believe there is nothing to discuss." "We need to extend all existing sanctions regimes and strengthen them, not weaken them. Because this sets a very dangerous precedent of easing sanctions against Russia," Tykhy said, recalling that former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had previously pursued this course.
As reported, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) met again on Monday to discuss the extension of the sanctions regime imposed in connection with the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and, in order to give member states additional time to thoroughly review proposals regarding the extension of sanctions, agreed to extend the sanctions regime for seven days, until midnight on Tuesday, September 22.