After weeks of difficult negotiations, European Union member states have reached an agreement to extend sanctions against Russia, with the measures remaining in force for another six months, Reuters and DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The compromise decision was made at the last minute, European sources reported.
The sanctions cover about 2,600 individuals and organizations. Among them are two of the most famous Russian oligarchs – Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, despite requests from Slovakia and Hungary to remove them from the sanctions list.
The initial proposal provided for the sanctions to be extended by twelve months, but as part of the compromise reached, the period was reduced to six months.
At the same time, the sanctions against two individuals will not be extended, as the evidence of support for Russia's war against Ukraine was assessed as insufficient. These are Maya Nikolaevna Bolotova and Nils Troost, according to data published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Bolotova was included in the sanctions list mainly because of her family relationship with Nikolai Tokarev, who is considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and heads the Russian oil and transportation company “Transneft“. Dutch businessman Troost was added to the list in 2024 after he was charged with complicity in circumventing the Western price cap on Russian oil.
The EU sanctions include travel bans, asset freezes and a ban on the provision of financial or economic resources. They were introduced in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and affect Russian politicians, senior state officials and a number of entrepreneurs with business interests in the European Union.
Without the extension decision, the sanctions regime was due to expire this Sunday.
Meanwhile, a new package of sanctions against Russia remains blocked. Hungary insists that it be approved only after the dispute over the interrupted supplies of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline is resolved. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government accuses Ukraine of obstructing the resumption of the pipeline, which runs from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
Turkey has stood up for Usmanov
Until the last moment, it remained unclear why Slovakia and Hungary were insisting on removing Fridman and Usmanov from the sanctions list. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar confirmed to the parliamentary committee on European affairs that his country supported such a request.
According to a publication by “Radio Free Europe“, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico forwarded a letter from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which Ankara stands up for Usmanov. The letter states that he contributed to strengthening ties between the Turkic states and the West.
Friedman's case against sanctions
In the case of Friedman, who also has Israeli citizenship, a decision by the Court of Justice of the EU is also relevant. In 2024, the court annulled previous decisions on sanctions against him for the period between February 2022 and March 2023, holding that the EU Council had not provided sufficient evidence when initially including his name on the list.
However, the decision did not lead to his automatic removal from the sanctions regime, as the EU Council had in the meantime adopted new decisions on sanctions against him.
Fears of legal actions
During the negotiations, a number of member states expressed concerns that the possible exclusion of Usmanov or Fridman from the sanctions list could set a precedent that would encourage other Russian businessmen to challenge the measures in court.
In European documents, Usmanov is described as an oligarch close to the Kremlin, who maintains close ties to President Putin and is considered one of the biggest beneficiaries of his management.
In Germany, he was investigated by the Munich prosecutor's office on suspicion of violating the Foreign Economic Law and evading sanctions. The case was dropped last year in exchange for a fine of 10 million euros.
According to investigators, there were suspicions that between April and September 2022, Usmanov paid about 1.5 million euros through offshore companies for the surveillance of two properties near Lake Tegernsee in Germany. In addition, he failed to declare various valuables, including jewelry, paintings and wines, to the German authorities.
In EU documents, Fridman is described as a businessman with close ties to the Kremlin, who is part of President Putin's inner circle.
According to the European institutions, he is the founder and shareholder of the “Alfa Group“, which also includes one of the largest Russian banks – “Alfa Bank“. The EU believes that thanks to his connections with the Russian authorities, Fridman was able to acquire state assets and gain political support for the group's international investments.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever called on Saturday for member states to authorize the EU to negotiate with Russia, as Moscow has so far failed to abandon its war in Ukraine. He stated this in an interview with the Belgian newspaper L'Echo, quoted by Euractiv.
''Since we cannot scare Vladimir Putin by sending weapons to Ukraine, and we cannot strangle him economically without the support of the United States, there is only one option left: an agreement,'' Wever believes.
According to him, Russia can only be brought to its knees with ''100% support from the United States.''
At the same time, according to the Belgian prime minister, the United States is not entirely on Ukraine's side, as it sometimes seems ''closer to Putin.''
''Without a negotiating mandate in Moscow, we are not at the negotiating table where the Americans will push Ukraine to accept the agreement. And I can already say that this will be a bad deal for us,'' said the Belgian Prime Minister.
We recall that at the end of 2025, the Belgian Prime Minister blocked the European Commission's decision to expropriate approximately 200 billion Russian sovereign assets frozen under Belgian jurisdiction. At the same time, he supported the decision to freeze these assets indefinitely, stating his intention to do everything possible to prevent their return to Russia.