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Hungary and Slovakia demand removal of some Russian oligarchs from EU sanctions list

2025-09-03 14:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hungary and Slovakia demand removal of some Russian oligarchs from EU sanctions

Hungary and Slovakia are again asking the European Union (EU) to lift the asset freeze and visa ban on six Russian businessmen as a condition for continuing the regime of individual sanctions against the Kremlin, in place since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

The sanctions, which after 18 rounds of EU restrictive measures now include over 2,600 individuals and companies, must be extended every six months by unanimity.

The list includes names such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as several oligarchs and businessmen accused of financing Russia's war or profiting from it.

As has been the case in Brussels, Hungary and, more recently, Slovakia have used their vetoes to remove some of the high-level names. Both of these Central European countries enjoy close political relations with the Kremlin, and claim that the sanctions are hurting the European economy more than the Russian economy.

In March, Russian businessman Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor; Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov; and Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of billionaire Alisher Usmanov, were removed from the list after weeks of difficult diplomatic negotiations between European officials.

Last year, similarly, the co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex, Arkady Volozh; businessman Sergei Mndoiants; Slovak national Jozef Hambalek, leader of the Russian nationalist motorcycle club Night Wolves in Europe; and Violetta Prigozhina, mother of the deceased businessman and leader of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, were removed.

According to several EU diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, this time Slovakia is seeking the removal of Usmanov and businessman Mikhail Fridman. In addition to these two names, Hungary is also seeking the removal of oligarchs Dmitry Mazepin, Pyotr Aven, Musa Bazhaev and Albert Avdolyan.

Most of these names have been proposed for removal from the lists before, except for Avdolyani, who was placed under EU sanctions only in February of this year.

Other EU member states have put forward an alternative: to remove only one or two so-called “weak” cases – individuals who would likely be removed anyway, as the sanctions against them are based on evidence that would not hold up if challenged in court. In addition, they propose that the sanctions be extended every 12 months, instead of the current 6 months.

But both Bratislava and Budapest have rejected this proposal in preliminary discussions in Brussels, and the issue will now move to the EU ambassadorial level on September 3.

An agreement is not expected that day, but with the September 15 deadline approaching for the renewal of sanctions, a compromise is expected to be reached next week./ REL