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Politico (15 September 2026)

Koen VERHELST, Gabriel GAVIN and  Nicholas VINOCUR

Paris has joined Slovakia in calling for Alisher Usmanov to be removed from the bloc’s blacklist.

BRUSSELS — France has a week to reassure fellow EU countries that its push to remove a controversial Russian-Uzbek billionaire from the bloc’s sanctions list won’t start a free-for-all that fractures restrictions on Moscow.

Ambassadors failed to agree on Monday on whether to remove mining and metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov from the blacklist during a closed-door meeting, known as Coreper. Five diplomats and officials involved in the discussions told POLITICO it’s now up to Paris, which blindsided colleaguesin backing the delisting of Usmanov, to explain how doing so wouldn’t set a dangerous precedent. The envoys will reconvene Sept. 22.

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