On September 21 (local time), the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs Policy - Ms. Kaja Kallas - urged member states to persistently maintain and quickly pass the extension of sanctions targeting Russia related to the conflict with Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Ms. Kallas affirmed: "Sanctions are the core pillar of our response to Russia's war to eliminate Moscow's funding.
EU foreign policy leaders emphasized that Europe needs stability by maintaining sanctions for a longer time, while revealing that the bloc is actively building a new sanctions package.
Ms. Kallas' call was made in the context that EU ambassadors in Brussels on September 21 had not yet been able to finalize an agreement to extend sanctions against nearly 3,000 individuals and entities due to obstacles in the proposal to lift sanctions against two Russian oligarchs.
Negotiations fell into deadlock before the deadline of September 22 when France and Slovakia proposed to remove Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the blacklist, leading to a request from Luxembourg to lift similar sanctions for banking tycoon Mikhail Fridman.
Although member countries had reached a preliminary consensus on lifting sanctions against the two businessmen in exchange for a commitment to extend the joint embargo for 3 years, the agreement broke down at the last minute due to strong opposition from Latvia.
Strong-minded countries such as Poland, the Baltic countries, and Ukraine strongly reject this easing plan, demanding continued economic pressure on Moscow instead of sending signals of concession.
