UK to Keep Sanctions on 2 Russian Oligarchs Despite EU Compromise

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly told President Vladimir Zelensky he disagreed with the EU’s decision to delist two Russian oligarchs closely connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin – Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman.Burnham made the remarks during a private meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, Sept. 23, citing sources familiar with the matter.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The UK intends to keep sanctions on the two men as they are linked to Moscow’s war effort, taking a step back from Brussels which removed Usmanov and Fridman from its blacklist on Tuesday.The compromise ended weeks of deadlock among frustrated member states.A compromise with two failed attempts behind itBefore formally making the decision, the EU ambassadors failed to agree on renewing the sanctions twice, after France joined Slovakia on Sept. 11 in demanding changes to the list of sanctioned individuals.With talks stalled, the bloc extended the existing measures by one week on Sept. 14.In return for delistment of Usmanov and Fridman, restrictions on the remaining entities and individuals, including asset freezes and travel bans, were extended for another three years instead of the usual six or 12 months.According to Reuters on Tuesday, France and Luxembourg pushed for the removals. Media reports linked France’s position to two French nationals held in Azerbaijan, while Luxembourg reportedly sought Fridman’s delisting over his $16 billion arbitration claim against the country. Other Topics of Interest EU Approves $3.4B Transfer to Ukraine, Based on Kyiv Reforms The EU approved a $3.4 billion disbursement to Ukraine after Kyiv met 10 key reform steps. The deal also includes a $105 million grant from Norway. Latvia and Estonia act nationallyAs the EU sanctions require unanimity, Latvia initially blocked the deal.Hours before the measures were set to expire at Tuesday midnight, Riga switched its diplomatic stance and lifted the veto.Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs described the decision as a choice “between a bad one and a significantly worse one.”Riga then imposed its own financial and entry restrictions on both men. The government also pledged to use all available legal tools to keep their funds in Latvia frozen.Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Tallinn “did not support this decision and abstained from the vote,” before signing a decree in New York placing Fridman and Usmanov under national sanctions. Estonia announced the decision on Thursday.“Both men support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and I call on others to impose national sanctions against them too,” Tsahkna wrote in a statement on X.Kyiv frames delistment as ‘suicidal and counterproductive’Ukraine opposed the delistings from the start. As the deal emerged, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday that the move would send the wrong signal to Moscow, exactly at the time when pressure needs to be increased.On Tuesday, Zelensky met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. Following the meeting, he said that “signals about lifting sanctions on certain Russian oligarchs appear suicidal and counterproductive,” particularly because air-raid alerts were sounding across Ukraine nationwide, even as the UN assembly met.Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Zelensky’s adviser on sanctions policy, told Kyiv Post on Wednesday that the decision appeared “very strange,” given that the circumstances had not changed.“Russia continues the war, and their [Fridman and Usmanov’s] ties with the Kremlin, which were among the grounds for sanctions, have not disappeared,” he said, warning that Russia was trying to fracture the unity of the EU and that the move must not become a new precedent.He also said Kyiv would reiterate by proposing new sanctions on Russian oligarchs tied to Moscow’s military-industrial complex who had not yet been targeted. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.