EU fails to finalize Russia sanctions deal, ambassadors to reconvene hours before deadline

EU ambassadors failed late on Sept. 21 to finalize a deal on renewing sanctions against nearly 3,000 Russia-linked individuals and entities, with negotiations set to continue just hours before the measures are due to expire.

Coreper II, the EU ambassadors’ body, said talks would resume at 8 a.m. Brussels time on Sept. 22 "with the aim of finalising agreement."

"Given the deadline of tomorrow midnight for all legal procedures to be completed, it is important that we find agreement as soon as possible," the statement said.

The agreement had initially been expected to be confirmed by 8 p.m. on Sept. 21, and then by 10 p.m., but Latvia remained opposed to the proposed compromise, according to three national diplomats who spoke to the Kyiv Independent.

Under the deal negotiated earlier in the day, Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman would be removed from the EU sanctions list, while restrictions on roughly 3,000 other individuals and entities would be extended for 36 months — significantly longer than the bloc's usual six- or 12-month renewal periods.

The individual sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, require the unanimous approval of all 27 EU members. A temporary seven-day extension adopted last week keeps the existing measures in force only until Sept. 22, meaning failure to reach an agreement risks allowing the entire list to lapse. The dispute does not affect the EU's separate sectoral sanctions against the Russian economy.

Latvia was the sole country still withholding approval of the proposed compromise late on Sept. 21, according to the three diplomats.

The impasse follows weeks of disputes over Usmanov and Fridman. France joined Slovakia in pushing for Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek billionaire, to be removed from the blacklist. Diplomats told Reuters that France's position followed pressure from Azerbaijan, which is holding at least two French nationals, although an Azerbaijani official rejected the characterization that Baku had pressured Paris. Luxembourg subsequently sought the removal of Fridman, according to Reuters.

Both men have challenged the EU sanctions imposed on them following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When sanctioning Usmanov in 2022, the EU described him as having "particularly close ties" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bloc said Fridman had supported actions or policies threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. Both men dispute the allegations underpinning the restrictions.

Ukraine has strongly opposed removing either businessman from the sanctions list.

"What has changed? Nothing. Delisting is unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to Moscow at a time when pressure needs to increase," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sept. 21.

Ukraine's sanctions envoy Vladyslav Vlasiuk similarly argued that lifting restrictions while the war continues would signal that sanctions could simply be waited out.

"Delisting without a fundamental change in conduct sends exactly the wrong signal: pressure is temporary, accountability is negotiable, and sanctions can simply be waited out," Vlasiuk said.

Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, Taras Kachka, also criticized the proposed compromise, saying that "compromise only invites Moscow to raise the stakes."