Ukraine calls on Europe to be more Baltic after EU sanctions buckle
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Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha praised Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on Sept. 23 for reimposing sanctions on the national level against two Russian oligarchs that were freed from such restrictions on the EU level the day before.
"We urge all other EU members to follow the example of our Baltic friends," Sybiha posted on social media after Lithuania announced it would impose sanctions against Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman.
The two men were delisted from EU sanctions on Sept. 22 after France and Slovakia led a push to remove them.
France's justification rested on their wish to free two Frenchmen held prisoner in Azerbaijan, one of whom was pardoned on the morning of Sept. 23.
The decision was officially reached less than six hours before the entire list of 3,000 EU sanctions against Russia was set to expire, partly because of a last-ditch push by Latvia to force France to reconsider.
In the end Latvia, together with Estonia, Lithuania, and Belgium, abstained to allow the compromise to go ahead and ensure the remaining EU sanctions would hold.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs condemned the agreement as a choice "between a bad and a much worse" solution, before announcing Riga would impose sanctions against Usmanov and Fridman.
Estonia and Lithuania soon after joined that move, with the question open of how many of the EU's other 24 member countries will do likewise.
"This is the best way to demonstrate that principles are not for sale," Sybiha said.
