Sanctions — 2026-10-08

EU Lifts Usmanov Sanctions After France Secures Prisoner Release Without Freeing Russian Political Prisoners

BLUFFrance's willingness to trade an oligarch's delisting for a single prisoner release sets a precedent that hostile states can leverage detained EU citizens to erode the bloc's sanctions regime.

The EU Council announced late on Tuesday, September 22, that it had delisted Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman while extending sanctions on roughly 3,000 other individuals and entities for three years 12. Reuters reported that three European diplomats said Paris had privately indicated Baku was using Usmanov's case to pressure France over two detained French citizens, which an Azerbaijani diplomat called "categorically unfounded" 3. On Wednesday Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned 20 prisoners, including French national Martin Ryan, serving 10 years for espionage; the second Frenchman, Anass Derraz, was not on the list 13. Latvia's prime minister dropped his objection after the three-year extension and a French agreement to open talks on a nuclear umbrella for Latvia 2. Kyiv Post reported on October 8 that Russian opposition figures criticized the deal for securing no release of Russian political prisoners 4.

Analysis
France's trade shows that detaining EU citizens can now extract concessions from the bloc's Russia sanctions regime. Baku got only part of what it sought, since Derraz stayed in custody while Ryan was pardoned. Buying off Latvia's veto with a three-year extension and French nuclear-umbrella talks closes the six-month renewal cycle that gave single states leverage until late 2029. The Usmanov and Fridman precedent could encourage Turkic states and Luxembourg to press for further individual delistings, and Kyiv and Russian opposition figures are already citing the outcome as evidence that EU unity is eroding. Reuters is the only primary source on the diplomatic pressure, though other outlets corroborate the delisting and reaction without contradiction. Luxembourg's legal exposure over Fridman's frozen assets and Turkic-state lobbying may have driven the delisting more than French hostage diplomacy, with the Ryan pardon a coincidental sequel.

4 sources

Azerbaijan Pardons French Citizen as EU Lifts Sanctions on Russian Billionaire - OCCRP
EU renews Russia sanctions but grudgingly drops 2 oligarchs from list - Courthouse News Service
Azerbaijan pardons French national after EU drops sanctions on Usmanov - Reuters (via Internazionale)
Russian Opposition Condemns EU Decision to Lift Usmanov Sanctions Without Freeing Political Prisoners - Kyiv Post