EU ambassadors fail to agree on extending sanctions against Russia

Ambassadors of EU countries at a meeting on Monday were unable to agree on extending sanctions against Russia, which expire on Tuesday.

As the publication Politico reports, citing diplomats, they will meet again later to continue the discussion.

According to the publication, Slovakia demanded that Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov be removed from the sanctions list. France proposed removing only Usmanov from the list, Politico writes.

According to its information, another aspect of the discussion concerns whether the restrictive measures should be extended for 6 months, as has been done since 2014, or for 12 months. Slovakia is not ready to support an extension for a longer period, the publication notes.

Extending the restrictions requires a unanimous decision by all states of the bloc. As the Euronews television channel points out, France joining the demand to lift sanctions on Usmanov may complicate reaching an agreement.

Source: TASS