Austria rules out lifting sanctions against Russian businessmen
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The European Union will not lift sanctions from Russian entrepreneurs already under restrictions, declared Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in an interview with the Wiener Zeitung.
So the minister commented on the request of the Hungarian leadership to exclude three Russian businessmen from the EU sanctions lists – Alisher Usmanov, Petr Aven and Viktor Rashnikov. The EU has until September 15 to resume its measures against individuals who have been sanctioned since the start of the special operation in Ukraine, or they will no longer be valid.
“I can assure you that the EU is united on this issue, the sanctions will not be changed. The list of individuals will also continue to operate without changes,” Schallenberg said.
The minister also welcomed the EU’s approval of a decision to stop visa facilitation with the Russian Federation, noting that a complete ban on entry to Russians would be “excessive”, since Russia remains part of European culture. Schallenberg is also confident that European sanctions are working, and the Kremlin’s policy on gas supplies to the EU is working against Russia itself.
Formerly Hungary, wrote Politico has also asked the EU to extend the exemption to humanitarian aid. “This has raised fears among other EU countries that Budapest wants to create loopholes in EU sanctions at a time when the European Commission is trying to tighten rules,” one of the sources said.
In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that four Russian businessmen were trying to challenge the imposition of EU sanctions against them through the courts. Roman Abramovich, Pyotr Aven, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman said that Brussels “infringes on their rights” by the imposed sanctions restrictions.
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