The closed understanding this Monday by the Twenty-Seven to extend for three years the sanctions against about 2,600 people and entities linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has fallen apart at the last moment, after at least one member state raised objections during the written procedure planned to formalize the agreement, according to diplomatic sources who have indicated this to Europa Press.
The clash focuses on the proposal to remove oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the sanctions list, a measure included in the commitment previously sealed by the ambassadors of the member states and which, ultimately, has not garnered the necessary unanimity to finalize the renewal of the sanctions regime.
In the absence of consensus, the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven will meet again this Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. "with the aim of finalizing the agreement," European sources have indicated, confirming that discussions on the extension of the sanctions "continue."
Thus, the pact that had passed the filter of the ambassadors earlier this afternoon is now suspended, when the Twenty-Seven agreed to exclude Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions —as requested by France and Slovakia— in exchange for extending the measures for three years, instead of just six months as had been occurring until now, the last time in March 2026.
After that first understanding, a written procedure was activated at 6:00 p.m. to give formal character to the decision, initially set until 8:00 p.m. and then extended until 10:00 p.m., during which any capital could register objections. The process concluded without the necessary unanimity to make the renewal effective.
Objections from Latvia and tension in the Baltic
Diplomatic sources have indicated to Europa Press that Latvia has been the only country to present objections to the commitment during the written procedure this evening and that it now falls to France to try to convince Riga to join the agreement.
When asked by Europa Press about their position regarding the removal of Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list, sources from the Latvian Foreign Ministry have avoided confirming or denying their position and have limited themselves to recalling that the decision will be made jointly by the Twenty-Seven and that the positions of the member states "are still being coordinated."
These reservations from Riga to lift the sanctions on the two oligarchs coincide with a warning issued this very night by the Latvian Armed Forces regarding a "possible threat" in the airspace of the Kraslava district, in the east of the country, near the borders with Russia and Belarus.
The situation now forces the Twenty-Seven to close a new last-minute commitment, as the current sanctions package expires this Tuesday at midnight and all necessary legal procedures for its renewal must be completed before that time.
The negotiations already forced last week the member states to exceptionally extend the restrictive measures for seven days, after they also did not reach the required unanimity to renew them before their expiration, initially scheduled for September 15.
The sanctions currently affect about 2,600 individuals and entities considered responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. They involve the freezing of assets and the prohibition of making funds or other economic resources available to them, in addition to travel restrictions to the community territory in the case of individuals.
Ukraine warns that it is "the wrong signal"
Before the agreement was left in the air, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andri Sibiga, had condemned the decision of the Twenty-Seven to lift the sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman, reminding that both were sanctioned because they "are part of Russia's aggressive regime" that is waging "an aggression war against Ukraine."
"What has changed? Nothing. The exclusion from the list is unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to Moscow at a time when pressure needs to increase," stated the head of Ukrainian diplomacy in a message on social media.
Sibiga called, on the contrary, to tighten the sanctions, expand the lists of restrictive measures against individuals and entities, and extend the renewal periods so that "there are fewer counterproductive ideas aimed at pleasing Russian oligarchs."