EU agrees to delist oligarchs in sanctions renewal deal

European Union ambassadors reached a deal on Monday to remove Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov and Russian-Israeli businessman Mikhail Fridman from the bloc's sanctions list, as part of a package to renew restrictions on nearly 3,000 other individuals and entities for an unprecedented three years. The agreement, which requires no formal objection from any member state within hours to be finalized, breaks a weeks-long deadlock that had threatened to let the entire sanctions regime expire. The compromise was brokered by the Irish presidency of the EU Council. It proposes to completely delist Usmanov and Fridman in exchange for extending the sanctions on the rest of the list until autumn 2029, a significant departure from the usual six- or 12-month renewal periods. The deal emerged after a day of intense negotiations, following a morning meeting where ambassadors initially failed to reach consensus. The impasse was driven by demands from specific member states. Slovakia had leveraged its veto to demand the removal of both oligarchs, a tactic it also used during a renewal in March. France later joined the push, specifically seeking the delisting of Usmanov.