After agreement on gas intake, Hungary signs off on EU renewal of sanctions on Russia
On Monday, six diplomats told Politico that the European Union reached a deal with Hungarian officials before its Saturday deadline to extend sanctions on Moscow set to expire on January 31.
The prolongation will, according to an EU official, continue to "deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war" in Ukraine.
All 27 member EU states are required to reauthorize the sanctions. It now keeps it applied for another six months.
"Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing," wrote High Representative Kaja Kallas, 47.
Hungry will, in exchange, get a non-committal statement on Ukraine's infrastructure, which sits at the intersection of gas flowing from Russia to other European nations such as Hungary.
A non-renewal of sanctions would otherwise have permitted Russian officials to rake in more than $220 billion in frozen assets via Russia's Central Bank. The sanctions include a series of bans on Russian oil, coal, its tech and finance sectors, luxury goods, transportation, and broadcasting.
The separate European Commission and its high representative described, in a non-binding statement presented Monday to top foreign diplomats, "the integrity of the energy infrastructure" as a "matter of EU security" that other nations should "respect."
"Hungary has received the guarantees it has requested concerning the energy security of our country," confirmed Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto as he welcomed a commitment to engage in further talks with Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- a key ally of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin -- previously vowed a veto unless Ukraine committed to restart its gas intake from Russia that ended at the start of this year after it was terminated at the end of 2024.
"What is closed now, has to be reopened again," Orban, 61, said during a radio interview. "This is not a matter for Ukraine, it is an issue for Europe, an issue for central Europe," he added.
EU officials have been critical of what was described as Turkey's "transactional" diplomacy.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky refused Orban's request, saying he will not let Russia "earn additional billions on our blood."
Officials in Turkey, meanwhile, offered to act as a hub for the transit of gas.
Orban claimed economic damage despite EU officials who say its more than two dozen states are ready for the transition away from Russian gas amid its nearly three-year war with Ukraine, now aided by North Korean soldiers.
But on Saturday, Zelensky, 47, indicated Kyiv may be ready to ship Azerbaijani gas through its pipeline network as a possible alternative providing it was not to benefit Russia.
"We can use our infrastructure if countries in Europe need gas," the war-plagued leader told reporters. "But not Russian gas."
The European Commission is, however, "ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine in line with Ukraine's international obligations," officials said in a statement.
"In that context, the Commission is ready to associate Hungary in the process (along with Slovakia)," it continued.
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