EU extends Russia sanction deadline

EU countries on Monday delayed a deadline for prolonging sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war after France pushed for billionaire Alisher Usmanov to be removed from a blacklist. 

The European Union's blacklist of almost 3,000 individuals and entities -- which needs to be extended every six months -- was set to expire by Wednesday.

But ambassadors from the EU's 27 member states agreed to push back the deadline a week in a bid to strike a deal after the late efforts from Paris to remove Uzbek-Russian metals tycoon Usmanov drew opposition.

Usmanov, a former major shareholder in Arsenal football club, was placed on the EU sanctions list in 2022 over what Brussels said were his close ties to Kremlin.

"Consultations will continue, and further discussions are expected to be held," a spokesman for Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said.

"Renewal of the listings is essential to continue undermining Russia’s war machine, and keeping the pressure on those individuals and entities supporting, enabling and benefitting from it," the spokesman said.

Multiple EU diplomats said France took its counterparts by surprise by joining a request from Slovakia to take Usmanov off the blacklist.

Diplomats said France did not give a clear reason beyond saying it was needed for "national security".

French officials confirmed they were seeking to remove Usmanov but did not go into detail on their motives.

The Financial Times reported that Paris was making the push as part of a prisoner release deal involving several French citizens held in Azerbaijan, citing people familiar with the issue.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP Monday only that "discussions are currently underway at the technical level in Brussels" and he expected them to conclude soon.

Diplomats from multiple EU countries said there was widespread reluctance for the bloc to be seen to be weakening its sanctions on Moscow.

EU countries had been instead been looking to extend the length of the sanctions from six months to a year as they seek to keep pressure on Moscow.

The EU's sanctions include key figures including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.