Hungary blocks EU sanctions on Russia and aid to Ukraine in a dispute over oil supplies
Hungary says it's blocking new EU sanctions on Moscow and a huge loan to Ukraine, unless Russian oil supplies to its territory are restored. EU foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels hoping to finalise the sanctions and approve a 106-billion-dollar loan to Kyiv Maximilian Hess is a fellow at the foreign policy research institute and founder of political risk firm, Enmetena Advisory. He says Hungary has actively chosen to fund Vladimir Putin's war. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter: / ajenglish Find us on Facebook: / aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: / aljazeeraenglish Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Hungary #EU #EuropeanUnion #Ukraine #UkraineWar #Russia #RussiaUkraineWar #RussianOil #VladimirPutin #VolodymrZelenskyy #aljazeeraenglish Transcript: Hungary says it's blocking new EU sanctions in Moscow and a huge loan to Ukraine unless Russian oil supplies to its territory are restored. EU foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels hoping to finalize the sanctions and approve a $16 billion loan to Keev. Now the blog has significantly reduced its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the war in Ukraine. But Hungary and Slovakia still have a temporary exemption from an EU policy prohibiting Russian imports. Budapest has accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying oil supplies ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections in April. Peter Zato is Hungary's foreign minister and he's doubled down on its threats to block the 106 billion loan to Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia. We are not uh agreeing with passing the p the 20th package because Ukraine decided not to restart the oil deliveries to Hungary with which they do endanger our energy security. This is it and no one has the right to put our energy security at risk because it's a issue of it's an issue of national sovereignty. The Adrushba pipeline has not been hit by any Russian attack. the pipeline itself has not been harmed and currently there is no physical reason and no uh uh physical obstacle to restart the deliveries. That's it. It's it's purely a political decision by Ukraine. Overnight on Sunday, Ukraine attacked the cre crucial Kalyano oil pumping station in Russia's Tarasan region. It's where Russian oil is blended before being exported. The station also maintains the continuous pressure needed to send oil along the pipeline. Damage to the facility will directly affect Russia's war economy. Oil and gas revenues account for roughly a third of the Russian federal budget, which funds the war against Ukraine. Kalyenko is a po important starting point in the chain that delivers resources to European markets. Germany's foreign minister says he's shocked by Hungary's warnings. I am surprised by Hungary's position. We will discuss this with our Hungarian colleagues. I do not believe it is right for Hungary to betray its own struggle for freedom and European sovereignty. EU's top diplomat Kayakalis says she doesn't expect the new sanctions on Russia to pass. We have heard some very strong statements from Hungary. That's why uh I don't really uh you know see that they are going to change this uh unfortunately today in this position that they have. Maximillian Hess is a fellow at the foreign policy research institute and founder of political risk firm Inmatina advisory. He's joining us live from London. Thank you very much indeed for being with us. How much could Hungary's demand throw a wrench into what are already very tense negotiations. Well, thank you for having me. Hungary certainly already has thrown a wretch wrench into these negotiations. It is delaying the anniversary package, the 20th package that would be set to be announced tomorrow on the 24th of February, the 4-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And that 90 billion euro, roughly 106 billion loan for Ukraine is crucial for keeping Kiev available to continue financing itself going forward uh in this conflict. And remember that package itself was only agreed as a stop gap measure when other European countries delayed the process of securing funding over Russia's frozen assets which are largely in Belgium around $200 billion worth of them back in December. So Hungary is certainly acting in a very sharp manner at a particularly disadvantageous time for Kiev. However, we have seen it repeatedly threatened such actions before. It has almost always rolled over on them.
