The EU has agreed to remove four individuals from its sanctions list against Russia after a delay from Hungary, AFP and Reuters reported Friday, paving the way for the bloc to extend restrictions on more than 2,400 others for another six months.
Diplomatic sources told newsmen that those set to have their asset freezes and visa bans lifted include businessmen Vladimir Rashevsky and Vyacheslav Kantor, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and the sister of billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
The EU must renew two sets of sanctions on Russia every six months through a unanimous vote. Hungary, which shares relatively warm relations with Russia, has repeatedly used sanctions renewal votes as leverage to advance its interests.
“Our determination to support Ukraine is decisive,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X after the decision to extend sanctions on Russia.
The hold-up from Budapest comes as U.S. President Donald Trump, a close partner of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — is pressing for a peace deal in Ukraine.
Hungary had said it didn’t want to extend the sanctions — which include Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — for fear of making negotiations more “difficult”.
The sanctions needed to be renewed with the backing of the bloc’s 27 member states by March 15, or they would lapse.
Hungary’s delay came after it held out until the last minute on extending sweeping sanctions in January on Russia’s economy over a dispute with Kyiv on gas supplies.
