European Union ambassadors failed on Monday, September 21, to finalise the deal that would remove businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the bloc’s sanctions list, and talks resume on Tuesday, September 22, at 06:00 GMT.

One diplomat told AFP that Latvia had lodged a last-gasp objection. According to diplomats cited by AFP and Euronews, the package negotiated by Ireland’s Council presidency would have delisted both men and renewed sanctions on about 3,000 other Russia-linked individuals and entities for 36 months, far longer than the usual six or 12 months. Renewal requires unanimity among the 27 member states, and the regime expires at the end of Tuesday. France had pushed to remove Usmanov, who holds Russian and Uzbek citizenship, citing “national security”; Reuters, citing three European diplomats, linked the French request to Azerbaijan’s detention of at least two French nationals, an account Baku rejects. Luxembourg demanded the same treatment for Fridman, who is seeking US$ 16 billion in arbitration against the grand duchy. Lithuania and the other Baltic states opposed the move, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote that delisting “is unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to Moscow”.