- Category
- World
Azerbaijan Pardons French Citizen Martin Ryan After EU Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oligarch Usmanov
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned French national Martin Ryan, previously accused of espionage, Reuters reported on September 23.
This came just one day after the European Union lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov following an intense pressure campaign from France and Luxembourg.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
Ryan, the Chief Executive Officer of Baku-based food-import firm Mercorama, had been serving a 10-year prison sentence following an espionage conviction in March, according to Reuters.
Baku accused him of operating as an agent for France’s Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), gathering sensitive information on Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with Türkiye and Pakistan, and secretly recruiting French-speaking Azerbaijanis—allegations Paris has consistently rejected.
Three European diplomats told Reuters that Ryan’s release appears to be the direct result of a highly controversial geopolitical trade that has fractured European unity.
The diplomats stated that Paris privately admitted Baku was using Usmanov’s sanctions designation to pressure France over its imprisoned citizens, leading France to successfully lobby Brussels to remove the metals and mining magnate from the EU sanctions list on September 22.
The pardon decree signed by Aliyev released Ryan alongside 19 others, including citizens from Türkiye, Pakistan, and a dual Russian-Israeli national, Reuters reported.
However, the deal did not secure the release of a second French national, Anass Derraz, an employee of French water management company Saur who was sentenced in 2025 to 12 years in prison on corruption charges.
A senior Azerbaijani diplomat rejected the allegations of a pressure campaign as “categorically unfounded,” telling Reuters that Baku openly supported Usmanov’s removal from Western sanctions lists but denied attempting to influence Western decision-making.
The delisting of Usmanov, alongside fellow Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, marks the first time the EU has removed sanctions against members of Russia’s billionaire elite who have not publicly condemned the war in Ukraine, Reuters noted.
The decision exposed deep divisions among EU governments, while Ukraine vehemently condemned the move as “shameful and unjustifiable,” according to the agency.
Relations between Paris and Baku have long been strained over France’s close ties to Armenia, Azerbaijan’s neighbor and rival, Reuters added. France maintains a large Armenian diaspora and actively supplies arms to Yerevan, compounding the diplomatic standoff surrounding the arrests.
In response to the EU’s decision to drop sanctions against Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers had recently ordered the drafting of national-level sanctions to prevent the billionaires' assets from circulating within its borders.
Riga had been the sole holdout against the EU delisting but ultimately chose to abstain to secure a 36-month extension for the broader European sanctions framework.
Discuss this article:
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-91ea40b37043b5ef58c8aceb58a7b970.jpeg "A dark plume of smoke rises over Samara following Ukrainian drone strikes on the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery. (Source: OSINT channel Exilenova+)")
-c439b7bd9030ecf9d5a4287dc361ba31.jpg "Photo of Katherina Popilnichenko")