In mid-September 2026, the European Union came close to a serious breakdown in one of its main instruments of pressure on Russia. Personal sanctions against roughly 2,500–3,000 Russian individuals and companies, imposed after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, were due to be renewed on 15 September. Instead,...
France’s Foreign Ministry refuses to name partners seeking to lift sanctions on Usmanov
The French Foreign Ministry has declined to name the international partners pressing for Alisher Usmanov’s removal from the EU sanctions list and has not explained the “national security considerations” it cited earlier. Paris has confirmed that it supports taking the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov off the European Union’s sanctions list,...
French Foreign Minister warns that concessions to the far-right lead to disaster
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said democratic and republican forces have no right to make any concessions to the far right. At the same time, he called for an urgent response to the “despair and public anger” that are fueling the rise of such parties. The...