“We discussed this with the prime minister, and after the conversation, we decided to propose including these two individuals in the national sanctions list,” said Martynas Katylinas on Thursday. According to him, Usmanov and Friedman will be included in the list of persons banned from entry due to security threats to Lithuania. The Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners stipulates that a foreigner may be banned from entering Lithuania for a period of no more than five years if they may pose a threat to state security or public order. The decision to ban entry to Lithuania is made by the Minister of the Interior upon the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to Katylinas, the proposal from Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has not yet been received, but the head of the Foreign Ministry has already indicated that such a proposal will be forthcoming. “According to publicly available data, Usmanov and Friedman are among the most influential entrepreneurs in the Russian Federation, operating in sectors of the economy that serve as an important source of revenue for the government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the aggression against Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. The ministry also reported on the preparation of legal acts proposing the freezing of assets and economic resources of Usmanov and Friedman. Earlier, Latvia and Estonia announced that they would apply national sanctions against these two entrepreneurs. As reported by BNS, at the request of several EU countries, the EU lifted sanctions against the mentioned Russian oligarchs. Officials in Paris cited “national security” interests as the motivation for the request to lift sanctions against Usmanov but declined to provide additional details publicly. According to the Financial Times, this request may be related to a potential agreement for the release of French citizens held in Azerbaijan. Luxembourg, according to diplomats, demanded the lifting of sanctions against Friedman because this oligarch has sued the country for €15 billion in damages for the freezing of his assets under EU sanctions. According to the Latvian government, Usmanov is an influential Russian businessman with ties to the head of the Russian regime, Vladimir Putin, and is the main shareholder of USM Holdings. Friedman is also considered a businessman close to Russian President Putin, who is also the main shareholder of Alfa Group. EU member states agreed on Tuesday to extend sanctions against nearly 3,000 individuals and organizations linked to Russian aggression for three years.
