As of now, the European Union is discussing the extension of individual sanctions against Russia for 12 months in exchange for removing Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the sanctions list, Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the President's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, has reported.
"As of now, there will be an extension for 12 months in exchange for lifting sanctions on Usmanov. However, the situation has changed three times just today. We, for our part, are categorically against any cancellations," Vlasyuk reported on his Facebook page on Monday.
On September 14, Politico reported, citing its sources among EU diplomats, that EU countries had failed to agree on extending one of the anti-Russian sanctions programs. Ambassadors were supposed to reach unanimous agreement on Monday, as the regime—which involves freezing the assets of about 3,000 individuals and companies—was expiring on Tuesday, but Slovakia demanded that the bloc remove Russian businessmen Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list, while France sought a compromise by proposing to exclude only Usmanov. Most other countries were unwilling to consider removing anyone from the list. Another part of the discussion concerned whether to extend the measures for six months, as has been customary since 2014, or renew them for 12 months: Slovakia was reluctant to support the longer term.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on international partners not to lift sanctions against Russia and to introduce new, stronger restrictions, in particular against Russian ballistic missile production and the financial sector, as well as to adopt the bill by late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham on sanctions against Russia. He noted that Russian businessmen Usmanov, Fridman, and other representatives of Russian business have still not taken steps against the war.
