(MENAFN) The European Union would lift sanctions on Russian businesspeople in control of fertilizer and chemical firms, according to the EUobserver daily, citing diplomatic sources.
According to the article, the last-minute agreement came as a result of 11th-hour negotiations between ambassadors on the margins of an EU conference in Brussels. EuroChem founder Andrey Melnichenko (and his wife Aleksandra), PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev, Acron Group significant shareholder Vyacheslav Kantor, Uralchem owner Dmitry Mazepin, and Rusagro founder Vadim Moshkovich are also involved. They are all now subject to asset freezes and travel restrictions imposed by the EU.
Individual EU nations would allegedly be able to unfreeze the businessmen's funds under Thursday's agreement if it is "strictly required" to speed supplies of food and fertilizer, particularly to Africa.
Nevertheless, EU member nations will need to “consult” the EU Commission before they can go ahead, the report says.
“While the six Russians will still be the likely beneficiaries of any derogations, their names will not explicitly be referenced in a new EU fertilizer white-list, as in initial EU proposals,” EUobserver states.
The accord comes as the EU announced a broader agreement on the ninth round of anti-Russia sanctions on Friday.
MENAFN25122022000045011137ID1105351080
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.