Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has announced that Hungary will not support the extension of EU sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens at the European Council meeting on February 24.
Speaking in Washington, Szijjártó’s remarks were quoted on X (Twitter) by Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács. According to him, Hungary opposes expanding EU sanctions on Russian and Belarusian individuals, arguing that “time must be given for peaceful negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.”
Szijjártó criticized Brussels for making hasty decisions that hinder peace efforts and for failing to uphold its commitments to Hungary regarding energy security.
“We will not agree to extend the sanctions on Monday—we have time until March 10,” he stated. The sanctions in question are set to expire on March 15, with a decision on their extension required by March 10.
Additionally, Szijjártó accused the European Commission of breaking its promise to include Hungary in negotiations on resuming the transit of Ukrainian gas, instead inviting only Slovakia and Ukraine. “They have already violated one of the four guarantees,” he said.
