France stalls EU Russia sanctions renewal over oligarch de-listing

European Union envoys have pushed back the expiry of EU Russia sanctions listings by ​seven days until September 22, a spokesperson for the EU’s Irish presidency said on Monday, after failing to agree on a six-month renewal. At issue is whether to de-list Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov. France has joined ​Slovakia in ‌a call to remove him, citing national security concerns, EU diplomats ⁠said. FRANCE 24’s August Hakansson reports.