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.

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

The European Union is set to extend sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine on Monday, with Hungary ready to lift its opposition to the move, according to people familiar with the matter.

The European Union has agreed to prolong for 6 months a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine.

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.

Hungary's representatives have not yet agreed to a decision on the extension of EU sanctions against Russia. The issue will be considered at an EU Council meeting at foreign minister level on Monday,

BRUSSELS – Hungary removed its veto on the EU's six-month extension of Russia sanctions on Monday, but it may not be its last standoff. The deal was struck after the EU agreed to issue a joint, non-binding statement by top diplomat Kaja Kallas and the European Commission to support Hungary's energy security at Monday's meeting of foreign ministers.

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,