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France is urging the European Union to lift sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov following pressure from Azerbaijan, according to three European diplomats. This move comes as Azerbaijan holds two French nationals, one of whom faces espionage charges, leading France to claim that Baku is using Usmanov to blackmail them. The EU has extended the deadline for renewing Russia sanctions until September 22 due to disagreements among member states on sanction extensions.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
France has been pressuring the EU to lift sanctions imposed on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov after coming under pressure from Azerbaijan, which is holding two French nationals. The EU extended the deadline for renewing Russia-related sanctions by seven days until September 22, as member states failed to agree on a six-month extension of these sanctions that require unanimous approval. France and Slovakia have called for Usmanov’s sanctions to be lifted amid his legal challenges against statements used to justify them. French officials claim this decision is driven by national security considerations and responses to international partners. The EU sanctions target nearly 3,000 companies and individuals with asset freezes and travel bans.
Written for “Azerbaijan Sanctions Pressure” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
France has been urging the EU to lift sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov after coming under what it says is pressure from Azerbaijan as Baku holds two French nationals, three European diplomats familiar with the matter said.
right frames France's actions as a response to national security concerns and external pressures
-
The link to Azerbaijan was first reported by the Financial Times on Monday. It was not clear why Azerbaijan was seeking Usmanov's delisting although President Ilham Aliyev has previously lobbied for his delisting.
right suggests Azerbaijan's actions are driven by self-interest without critical analysis
-
France believed Baku's move was supported by Qatar and Kazakhstan. Several other leaders in the region and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, have previously called for Usmanov to be taken off the EU's sanctions list.
right frames regional support for lifting sanctions as a coordinated effort
-
France has accused Azerbaijan-linked groups of carrying out disinformation campaigns over the last year, and said Baku has been seeking to fan the flames of riots and independence demands in France's Pacific island of New Caledonia.
right attributes blame for political instability to external actors
Leaning score +0.45 for article 14758 (medium confidence, 4 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-17
French seeks lifting of EU sanctions on billionaire after pressure by Azerbaijan, diplomats say
PARIS, Sept 15
asserted
diplomats → seek → Azerbaijan
- France has been urging the EU to lift sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov after coming under what it says is pressure from Azerbaijan as Baku holds two French nationals, three European diplomats familiar with the matter said.
asserted
diplomats → urge → matter
European Union envoys extended the deadline for renewing Russia sanctions listings by seven days on Monday after failing to agree on a six-monthly rollover of the sanctions, which requires the unanimous approval of the 27 member states.
asserted
which → extend → states
EU diplomats said France had joined Slovakia in calling for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Usmanov after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
asserted
France → say → Ukraine
The metals and mining mogul has launched multiple lawsuits in Europe with the ultimate goal of having the sanctions lifted, and his lawyers have contested statements in the media that were used as grounds for the sanctions.
asserted
that → launch → sanctions
French diplomatic sources said the decision by Paris to call for sanctions on Usmanov to be lifted was driven by national security considerations, and that France was responding positively to approaches from international partners regarding the Usmanov case.
asserted
France → say → case
The European diplomats said Paris had indicated in private that Baku was using Usmanov to "blackmail" it over the case of two French citizens held in Azerbaijan, one of whom Paris has said is being held arbitrarily.
asserted
Paris → say → whom
Baku has sentenced the French national on espionage charges.
asserted
Baku → sentence → charges
The link to Azerbaijan was first reported by the Financial Times on Monday.
asserted
link → report → Monday
It was not clear why Azerbaijan was seeking Usmanov's delisting although President Ilham Aliyev has previously lobbied for his delisting.
asserted
Aliyev → seek → delisting
The diplomats said France believed Baku's move was supported by Qatar and Kazakhstan.
asserted
move → say → Qatar
Several other leaders in the region and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, have previously called for Usmanov to be taken off the EU's sanctions list.
asserted
Usmanov → call → list
The foreign ministries of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Qatar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
asserted
ministries → respond → comment
France's Foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment on the Azerbaijan connection.
asserted
spokesperson → decline → connection
DIFFICULT TIES
Ties between Azerbaijan and France have long been strained, and worsened in 2023 when Azerbaijan regained control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a move that triggered an exodus of 120,000 ethnic Armenians living there.
asserted
that → strain → Armenians
Baku reacted angrily to French military support for Armenia, with which Azerbaijan has fought two wars in the past three decades.
asserted
Azerbaijan → react → decades
France has accused Azerbaijan-linked groups of carrying out disinformation campaigns over the last year, and said Baku has been seeking to fan the flames of riots and independence demands in France's Pacific island of New Caledonia.
The EU sanctions designations, which target nearly 3,000 companies and individuals with asset freezes and travel bans, had been due to expire on September 15.
asserted
which → accuse → September
The expiry date has been pushed back to September 22.
asserted
date → push → September
One diplomat said member states were now watching to see how Paris would seek to break the impasse before next week or risk undermining both its credibility as a supporter of Ukraine and the EU's sanctions process.
asserted
Paris → say → Ukraine
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