Sawt Falasteen - EU extends Russia sanction deadline

The European Union blacklist of almost 3,000 individuals and entities -- which needs to be extended every six months -- was set to expire by Wednesday.

But ambassadors from the 27 EU member states pushed back the deadline one week after the late efforts from Paris to remove 73-year-old Uzbek-Russian metals tycoon Usmanov drew opposition.

Usmanov, a former major shareholder in Arsenal football club, was placed on the EU sanctions list in 2022 over what Brussels said were his close ties to the Kremlin.

"Consultations will continue, and further discussions are expected to be held," a spokesman for Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said.

"Renewal of the listings is essential to continue undermining Russia’s war machine, and keeping the pressure on those individuals and entities supporting, enabling and benefitting from it," the spokesman said.

EU diplomats said France took its counterparts by surprise by supporting a Slovakian request to take Usmanov off the list.

Diplomats said France did not give a clear reason beyond saying it was for "national security".

French officials confirmed they were seeking to remove Usmanov but did not detail their motives.

The Financial Times reported that Paris was making the push as part of a prisoner release deal involving several French citizens held in Azerbaijan, citing people familiar with the issue.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP Monday only that "discussions are currently underway at the technical level in Brussels" and he expected them to conclude soon.

Diplomats from multiple EU countries said there was widespread reluctance for the bloc to be seen to be weakening its sanctions on Moscow.

EU countries had been instead been looking to extend the length of the sanctions from six months to a year as they seek to keep pressure on Moscow.

The EU's sanctions include key figures including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his daily address, said: "It is definitely not the time to lift sanctions."

He added: "It is definitely not the time to rescue Russian oligarchs from sanctions. And it is definitely not the time for Europe to be giving gifts to Russia."

J.AbuHassan--SF-PST