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EU drops sanctions proposal targeting Russia’s Patriarch Kirill

The EU removed Patriarch Kirill and Lukoil chief Vagit Alekperov from a proposed 42-person sanctions list after Bulgaria vetoed the plan.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

The European Union will not impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, or on Vagit Alekperov, the chief of Lukoil, after Bulgaria vetoed a proposal, according to OilPrice. The development comes as the EU weighs a new round of financial penalties.

Kirill had been expected to be included in a sanctions draft affecting 42 people, with the proposal describing him as consistently supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. EU officials cited by OilPrice said the latest draft removes Kirill from the list expected to be agreed upon in the coming days.

The same draft also removes Alekperov, head of Russia’s largest private oil company, Lukoil. OilPrice notes that Brussels has previously pushed to include Kirill in sanctions imposed since the weeks after Russia launched its all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022.

OilPrice adds that the push to include Kirill was repeatedly blocked by Hungary’s government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on the grounds that the EU should not target religious figures, before Orban and his party were voted out earlier this year.

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