Lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs creates dangerous precedent for EU — media

Filed 1h ago · Via NV · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

The Path of the Goblin King

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Ukrainian outlet Yevropeiska Pravda reports that France pushed the EU to delist Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from sanctions in exchange for Azerbaijan releasing detained French nationals, including one sentenced to ten years on espionage charges France calls politically motivated. The move immediately triggered a parallel demand from Luxembourg to delist Mikhail Fridman, who happens to be suing Luxembourg for $16 billion over frozen assets.

On September 22 the EU Council extended sanctions on Russia-linked individuals through 2029 but carved out both Usmanov and Fridman, a decision reportedly made without consulting Ukraine, whose sovereignty the sanctions regime was built to defend.

The report warns that turning sanctions into bargaining chips for unrelated disputes sets a template other capitals with their own favored oligarchs and legal headaches may now be tempted to follow.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Once you swap one name off a list, the list stops being a list and starts being a menu. Luxembourg saw France get served and put its hand up before the plates were cleared, which is exactly what anybody watching would have done. And the country the whole thing was built to protect didn't get asked what it thought of the arrangement.

Source: Read the original at NV → Scored: The Path of the Goblin King · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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