Sanctions — 2026-09-21

All 3000 EU Sanctions Listings Linked to Russia War Risk Expiring September 21 as France and Slovakia Seek to Delist Oligarchs

BLUFEU ambassadors are very likely to renew the Russia sanctions before midnight September 22, but France's transactional linkage to its detained citizens in Azerbaijan sets a corrosive precedent for future renewals.

EU ambassadors meeting at Coreper failed again to agree on extending sanctions covering roughly 3,000 individuals and entities tied to Russia's war against Ukraine, including Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and set a further session for Monday, September 21 1. The listings, already pushed back seven days from an original deadline, now expire at midnight Tuesday, September 22 1. The holdup centers on France and Slovakia's push to delist Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, with France citing national security concerns 2. European Pravda sources in French diplomatic circles said Paris seeks to trade Usmanov's removal for the release of French citizens held in Azerbaijan 1. Slovakia has separately pressed to drop Mikhail Fridman from the list, a demand it also raised during the last individual-sanctions renewal in March 1.

Analysis
A full lapse of the sanctions regime remains very likely to be avoided before midnight Tuesday, September 22, as EU ambassadors reconvene Monday to weigh two narrow national asks rather than a bloc-wide objection. Moderate confidence reflects the precedent of March's renewal, when an identical Slovak push to drop Fridman and Usmanov was overridden at the last moment, and France's transactional framing of the Usmanov trade around detained citizens in Azerbaijan. Failure to reach consensus Monday would leave sanctions on Putin, Lavrov, and roughly 3,000 other listed individuals exposed to lapse for the first time since the regime's creation, forcing an emergency re-listing process.

3 sources

EU fails to agree on extending sanctions against Putin and Lavrov - Ukrainska Pravda (European Pravda)
France stalls EU Russia sanctions renewal over oligarch de-listing - France 24
All EU sanctions linked to Russias war may expire as France Slovakia seek to delist oligarchs - Kyiv Independent