Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Azerbaijan pardons Frenchman after EU sanctions move
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday pardoned Martin Ryan, a Frenchman jailed since 2023 on espionage charges, after the European Union removed two Russian billionaires from its sanctions list.
Aliyev pardoned 20 people in total, his website said. French water company executive Anass Derraz, who was jailed in Azerbaijan last year for accepting a bribe, was not included on the list.
A senior diplomat in Brussels said France had pushed for the EU to lift sanctions on Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov in exchange for the release of French prisoners held in Azerbaijan. The diplomat said Luxembourg then demanded that sanctions also be lifted on fellow billionaire Mikhail Fridman, who is suing Luxembourg over his frozen assets.
Ryan, a businessman, was arrested in December 2023 as relations between Azerbaijan and France deteriorated over Paris's support for Armenia, Baku's longtime rival. A court found him guilty in March of spying against Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Ryan denied the charges, and a French foreign ministry spokesperson said at the time that France rejected the allegations.
The EU had sanctioned Usmanov and Fridman after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine over allegations that their businesses provided significant revenues to the Kremlin. Ukraine described the decision to remove them from the list as “shameful.”
Some EU member states objected to France's push, arguing that removing people from sanctions lists for political reasons could set a dangerous precedent. Usmanov's link to Azerbaijan was not immediately clear.
Update
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Frenchman Martin Ryan, who had been jailed since 2023 on espionage charges.
Aliyev pardoned 20 people in total.
French water company executive Anass Derraz was not included in the pardon list.
A senior diplomat in Brussels said France pushed for the EU to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov in exchange for the release of French prisoners held in Azerbaijan.
The EU removed Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list, a move Ukraine called shameful.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 September 2026 at 08:21:32 UTC.
Update
Diplomats said the compromise would prolong sanctions on almost 3,000 other individuals and entities over the Ukraine war for a further three years.
Diplomats said the agreement will become definitive if no country objects in writing in the coming hours.
Diplomats said the deal followed a push from France.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 15:53:00 UTC.
Update
Diplomats said the EU struck a provisional deal to lift sanctions on two Russian oligarchs.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 15:41:18 UTC.
Update
Luxembourg is insisting that sanctions also be lifted on Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman if Alisher Usmanov is taken off the EU list.
Sybiga said Usmanov and Fridman were listed because they are part of what he called Russia's aggressive regime waging war against Ukraine.
The EU sanctions blacklist includes Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 15:03:05 UTC.
Update
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said removing two Russian oligarchs from the EU sanctions list would be unacceptable.
Sybiga said delisting would send Moscow the wrong signal and that sanctions should be tightened.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 14:52:20 UTC.
Update
Ukraine said a push to lift EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs was unacceptable.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 14:38:48 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Usmanov's link to Azerbaijan was not immediately clear.
The full terms of any understanding between France, the EU and Azerbaijan were not stated.
Source
AFP news report published on .