Hungary’s ambassador to the EU demanded that Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman be removed from the sanctions list, threatening to block the extension of EU sanctions imposed on about 2,000 Russians otherwise, the Financial Times reported on March 13, citing four officials familiar with the matter.
Hungarian leadership, broadly seen as the most Russian-friendly in the EU, has repeatedly obstructed and delayed the bloc's sanctions against Moscow and military aid for Ukraine.
The travel restrictions and asset freezes on politicians and businessmen who supported Russia's war against Ukraine will expire on March 15, unless all EU member countries decide to extend them for another six months.
The bloc's ambassadors are meeting in Brussels on March 13 after several days of talks that failed to reach a compromise, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Initially, Budapest sought a removal of eight names from the sanctions list, including Russian oligarchs Petr Aven and Alisher Usmanov, but finally focused on Fridman, the newspaper wrote.
Fridman and Aven were sanctioned by the EU on Feb. 28, 2022, for their ties to the Kremlin and support for Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine.
In April 2024, the EU’s General Court lifted sanctions against the two, ruling that the EU had failed to demonstrate their role in undermining Ukraine. However, subsequent EU decisions kept them on the sanctions list under a different justification, classifying them as "leading businesspersons providing substantial revenue" to Russia.
Ukraine's staunchest allies, such as the Baltic States, reportedly opposed any easing of EU sanctions against Moscow. Hungary's idea to remove Fridman from the sanctions list was backed by Luxembourg, three unnamed officials told FT.
Last year, Fridman filed a lawsuit against Luxembourg, where his stake in the London-based investment company LetterOne is located. The oligarch claimed $15.8 billion in sanctions-related damages.
Chris York
