Foreign Media: UK and EU Divided Over Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs; UK Refuses to Follow EU’s Removal of Measures

According to Bloomberg, the European Union recently lifted personal sanctions against Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, but the United Kingdom has explicitly declined to follow suit, maintaining its own comprehensive sanctions against both individuals. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that he does not recognize the EU’s decision to remove their names from sanction lists, emphasizing the need to sustain pressure through continued sanctions on Russia in order to push Moscow toward ending the war in Ukraine.

During his attendance at United Nations General Assembly-related events in New York, Burnham held a private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and conveyed this position. He underscored that Ukraine’s international partners must preserve the pressure of sanctions on Russia to compel an end to military operations against Ukraine. Compared with other European countries, the UK’s retention of sanctions carries greater substantive impact, as Usmanov and Fridman had already established extensive commercial assets in the UK prior to the full-scale outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, allowing UK sanctions to directly target their core interests.

The EU’s recent approach to sanctions represents a compromise: extending sanctions on approximately 3,000 individuals and entities linked to Russia by three years, while removing Usmanov and Fridman from the list upon proposals from France and Luxembourg. This divergence has led to an uncommon public rift between the UK and the EU on Russia-related sanctions.

It was reported that Fridman himself expressed surprise at the EU’s decision to lift sanctions against him. Although he had previously pursued legal challenges against the sanctions and achieved several favorable rulings, he had long ceased expecting relief. The removal of both men from the EU sanctions list was primarily driven by Usmanov’s extensive behind-the-scenes efforts, particularly his deep ties with political leadership in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, which proved instrumental in securing their de-listing.

According to sources familiar with closed-door discussions, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly signaled in recent years that personal sanctions are not matters of state policy but individual responsibilities requiring entrepreneurs to seek relief independently. Usmanov, who is not considered a core member of Putin’s inner circle, successfully leveraged this logic to advance both his own and Fridman’s removal from EU sanctions lists.

However, ongoing sanctions from the United States and the United Kingdom mean that neither individual can fully restore their former business operations or lifestyles. While EU de-listing relaxes restrictions on asset management, cross-border transactions, and travel within Europe, it does not mitigate the fundamental constraints imposed by US and UK sanctions.

Beyond the UK, Latvia has also formally opposed the EU’s decision to remove Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list and plans to introduce independent national measures to continue imposing restrictions on both figures.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877175793043468/

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