Lithuania Expresses Skepticism Over Russian Sanctions Relief and Targets

Lithuania stated it was highly skeptical of efforts to remove oligarch Alisher Usmanov from current sanctions lists, despite France requesting his delisting as part of a package. The country's finance minister noted that the EU requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states for packages affecting Russia. Lithuania argued that any easing of pressure on Moscow before a peace deal could be viewed as weakness by Russia.

The country believes that the timing is not appropriate for alleviating pressure on Moscow. This stance complicates the efforts to renew or pass new EU sanctions packages targeting Russia's support for the invasion of Ukraine.