Long reputed to be Russia-friendly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has often railed against the continuation of the EU sanctions, claiming that they impose an intolerable burden on the Hungarian economy and provide no solution for the carnage in Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened on Friday to block the next rollover of EU sanctions against Russia unless Brussels helps achieve a restart of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, which was halted on Jan.

Russia claims to have regained control of a town in the Kursk area that was previously held by Ukrainian troops. The European Union maintains sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. This decision was made by the representatives of the Twenty-Seven on Monday,

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

Sikorski believes that Budapest changed its mind after Trump called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as an aggressor and threatened Moscow with sanctions if it did not engage in peace talks. It was the new US president's first clear position on Russia's war against Ukraine.

The European Union on Monday renewed its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine after Hungary stopped holding up the move in return for a declaration on energy security. The bloc’s foreign policy chief,