Hungary threatened to block a new package of European Union sanctions against Russia and to stall efforts to assist Ukraine until Russian oil deliveries to Hungary resume.
The EU’s foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bloc’s 20th round of sanctions against Moscow, a measure they hope will be approved in time to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.
In a video posted to social media on Sunday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated he would block the sanctions package, accapplying Ukraine of deliberately holding back Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline.
“We will not consent to the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions, becaapply we have previously created it clear that until the Ukrainians resume oil shipments to Hungary, we will not allow decisions that are important to them to be approved,” Szijjártó stated.
Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been interrupted since January 27 after what Ukrainian officials declare were Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude across Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe, leading to rising tensions between Budapest and Kyiv.
For the sanctions to pass, the 27-nation bloc requireds to reach a unanimous decision.
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