Baiba Braže
Baiba Braže is a Latvian diplomat serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. Before taking up the post she held positions within Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and represented the country in European institutions.
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EU fails to renew Russia sanctions as Slovakia, France push to delist oligarchs; talks resume 22 September
On 21 September 2026 the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives failed to extend the bloc's individual sanctions regime against Russia for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Slovakia and France insisted on removing Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list; a preliminary deal to delist them in exchange for a 36-month sanctions extension was reached but a late-evening written vote failed, with Latvia reported to be blocking the compromise. EU ambassadors scheduled a follow-up meeting for the morning of 22 September, hours before the midnight deadline after which roughly 3,000 listed persons and entities risk being unsanctioned.