Kallas: return of Usmanov and Fridman to EU sanctions list unlikely in the near future

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on October 5 that she does not expect the imminent return of Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman to the EU sanctions list.

Her remarks came two weeks after both men were removed from the list as part of a deal to extend sanctions against Russia.

Kallas responded to a question about the possible reimposition of sanctions on the two individuals following a meeting of the EU–Moldova Association Council.

“I don’t see that happening with regard to these two individuals in the near future,” she said, as reported by Yevropeyska Pravda, cited by Ukrainska Pravda.

According to Kallas, the EU is working on approximately 1,600 new sanctions designations. She also explained that 2,998 sanctions designations will remain in place for three years, meaning the EU will no longer need to decide on their renewal every six months. Member states, she said, “are entitled to propose names for inclusion in the sanctions list,” but the decision rests with them.

The compromise that freed the two oligarchs

EU ambassadors agreed on September 22 to remove Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list. In exchange, sanctions against the remaining approximately 3,000 individuals and entities were extended for three years instead of the usual six months, Reuters reports. According to representatives of Ireland, which holds the EU presidency, the sanctions regime is now in effect until September 22, 2029.

France initiated the removal of Usmanov, citing national security considerations, which surprised other EU members. Luxembourg then demanded the same for Fridman, who had filed a lawsuit against the country for approximately €14.2 billion. Slovakia also supported Usmanov’s removal from the list. Latvia opposed the move until the last moment but ultimately abstained, and the decision was adopted despite the EU’s unanimity rule.

Before the deal was reached, Kallas had urged EU countries to maintain the sanctions.

“Sanctions are one of the main pillars of our response to Russia’s war. We need that stability,” she had said.

Kyiv disagrees

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the removal from the sanctions list “shameful and unjustified” and said Kyiv would seek to have the sanctions reinstated. Lithuania and Estonia, meanwhile, imposed their own national sanctions on both businessmen.

The EU first imposed sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measures included asset freezes and travel bans. Fridman is a co-founder of Alfa Group and Alfa-Bank, while Usmanov, as the EU noted, has “particularly close ties” to Vladimir Putin. Both remain under sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

Independent Russian outlet The Bell wrote that since the rest of the list has now been extended until 2029, the two were “removed from the list for nothing.”