In a display of weakness that has left Ukraine reeling, the European Union has traded its own sanctions policy for the release of a French national held in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Martin Ryan, a Frenchman who had been serving a 10-year sentence on espionage charges, just hours after the EU buckled and removed two Russian billionaires from its sanctions list.
The move, which involved lifting restrictions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, was pushed by France and Slovakia, effectively undermining the EU’s own stance against the architects of Russia's aggression. While the EU claims to be standing against Moscow, this decision suggests otherwise.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha rightly condemned the move, noting that Moscow is now celebrating a sense of impunity and humiliation for the European bloc. Latvia, which initially opposed the capitulation, warned that the decision sends a dangerous signal of division at a time when Russian aggression is only intensifying.
While Ryan has been freed, another Frenchman, Anass Derraz, remains behind bars in Azerbaijan on bribery charges.
By prioritizing the interests of oligarchs with deep ties to Vladimir Putin over a unified front against Russian expansionism, the EU has once again demonstrated that its commitment to international pressure is negotiable when the right political price is paid.
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