The European Union has yet to lift Hungary’s veto on extending sanctions against Russia, with only two days remaining before they expire.
On Thursday, March 13, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which meets at the ambassadorial level, once again failed to reach an agreement on the continuation of individual sanctions against Russia. This deadlock is attributed to Hungary’s opposition. Hungary is pushing for the removal of several Russian oligarchs from the sanctions list.
Diplomats involved in the discussions, who spoke to European Pravda on condition of anonymity, revealed that Hungary’s veto is preventing the sanctions from being extended. Budapest demands the removal of specific individuals from the list, but other EU nations deem these requests unacceptable, describing them as “crossing red lines.”
“Coreper discussions on sanctions took place today, but no decision was made at this stage,” said a diplomat from one of the EU countries. He reminded that, if the sanctions are not extended, “they will expire at 23:59 on Saturday, March 15.” According to diplomatic sources from European Pravda, the core issue is Hungary blocking the sanctions extension while insisting on removing several Russians from the list.
Among the names being considered for removal are Russian oligarchs Mikhail Friedman, Petr Aven, and Alisher Usmanov.
Additionally, European Pravda sources confirmed that Luxembourg supports removing Friedman from the sanctions list. “Because it is in Luxembourg where 15 billion euros of Friedman’s frozen assets are stored, and he has been trying to recover them through the courts for several years.”
However, sources from European Pravda refrained from specifying which other individuals may be removed, underscoring that negotiations are still ongoing and the situation could change at any moment.
