BRUSSELS, March 14. /TASS/. Permanent representatives of 27 EU countries have agreed to extend individual sanctions against Russia for six months, removing three deceased individuals from the blacklist, Reuters reported citing European diplomats.
According to the agency, the ambassadors did not remove businessman Mikhail Fridman from the blacklist, despite Hungary's insistence on this. Fridman also won a lawsuit in the EU court 11 months ago to lift EU sanctions, but this did not change the situation.
Thus, the EU extended measures against more than 2,400 citizens of Russia, Belarus, Iran, China, North Korea, Syria, Ukraine and a number of other countries due to the Russian military operation.
The list includes businessmen, civil servants, law enforcement officials, public figures and journalists. These restrictions are renewed twice a year - in March and September - by decision of the EU Council. Personal sanctions include a ban on travel to the European Union and the freezing of financial assets in European jurisdictions. This mechanism operates independently of the EU's economic sanctions against Russia, which are also renewed twice a year - in January and July - by a separate decision of the EU Council.
