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Story summary
- France forced the EU to lift sanctions on Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
- The sanction removal was a condition of a secret deal with Azerbaijan to release detained French nationals.
- French diplomats said they pursued Usmanov’s exemption for national-security reasons.
- Azerbaijan demanded a ransom in exchange for freeing the French citizens.
- The move mirrors a goal previously pursued by Hungary’s former leader Viktor Orbán.
