Patriarch Kirill and Lukoil founder excluded from draft 21st EU sanctions package – sources

Diplomats from several EU states have reported that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov have been excluded from the draft of the 21st EU sanctions package against Russia. The exclusion came at Bulgaria's request, later joined by Italy.

It has also become known that most problematic issues in the sanctions package have been resolved, largely in the direction of softening. The ban on EU entry for Russian combatants will be significantly narrowed. The proposed ban on EU imports of cod, pollock, and certain other fish will be removed entirely. Strict restrictions on Russian-origin liquefied gas and related tankers will also not be implemented.

A positive development is the member states' agreement in principle to temporarily freeze the price cap on Russian oil at $44.10 per barrel.

Among unresolved issues: Austria has renewed its demand to lift sanctions and unfreeze assets of the Russian investment company Rasperia, linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, which has billion-dollar legal claims against a subsidiary of Austrian bank Raiffeisen.

As reported, EU ambassadors have yet to agree on the content of the new 21st sanctions package. It may be approved on July 13 during the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, but in a lighter form – without Patriarch Kirill's name on the sanctions list.