Hungary prolonged its blockage of the renewal of sanctions against Russia as Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of Russian gas to Europe.

Hungary wants the European Union to persuade Ukraine to resume gas transit from Russia to Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, signalling a tough debate as the EU seeks to extend its sanctions against Russia over the coming week.

The extension of EU sanctions shouldn't be automatic, the Hungarian government has said, in remarks that threaten to unravel the bloc's collective reaction to Russia's war on Ukraine #EuropeNews

Hungary said it will consult the United States before making a decision about renewing the European Union’s sanctions against Russia as a deadline looms at the end of the month.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he wants the European Union to intervene over a gas dispute between his country and Ukraine – a potential sign of friction in the bloc’s upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

It’s hard to find a more hypocritical political class in the wide world than that of the Brussels bureaucrats. They demand that we sever ourselves from Russian gas, meanwhile, more Russian LNG is coming to Western Europe than ever before,

The fate of the European Union’s sanctions against Russia were thrown into limbo after a top Hungarian official called for a “debate” and signaled their renewal by the end of the month shouldn’t be automatic.