Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of Russian gas to Europe, and linked the issue to extending sanctions against Moscow.

The European Union will moved forward with a renewal on Russian sanctions after a deal was struck with Hungary, according to multiple reports.

The Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk commented on the actions of Hungary, whose representatives have not yet agreed to extend sanctions against Russia. Source: Tusk on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Donald Tusk,

The EU renewed sanctions on Russia and called for unity to respond to Donald Trump's transactional approach. The US president's warning to Moscow to end the war or face more penalties was more in line with EU policy.

The economic difficulties facing the Hungarian leader with will further undermine his ability to hijack — let alone drive — the EU’s agenda.

The European Union is facing another potential showdown with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his refusal to sign off on an extension of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.

With a key deadline set to expire next week, Viktor Orbán and his deputies have raised the spectre of vetoing EU sanctions against Russia, a move which would upend the bloc's foreign policy. #EuropeNe

Orban, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the EU, has broken with the majority of European leaders and vocally opposed such sanctions, arguing they did more to damage Euro

As Magyar Nemzet reported, Hungary blocked the extension of sanctions against Russia, putting significant pressure on European Union decision-makers. Prime Minister Viktor Orban made it clear that Hungary's support is conditional on the resumption of natural gas and oil transit through Ukraine, which has been halted in recently.

Hungary, one of Russia’s main friends in the EU, had left its EU counterparts fuming over a refusal so far to approve the move.

The Hungarian premier has repeatedly called for the end of Russian sanctions. One of the E.U.’s closest Trump allies, Orban has backed the U.S. president’s ambition to end the war swiftly, asserting that the new administration was poised to cut off aid to Ukraine.

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