Hungary blocks the approval of the embargo on Russian oil brought into Europe via tankers at the ambassadors’ meeting. Budapest demands that Patriarch Kirill, the spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and a supporter of President Vladimir Putin, be removed from the European sanctions list. That’s what several diplomatic sources say.
On Monday, European leaders reached the following agreement:
Read all about the war between Ukraine and Russia in this file
The EU would like to put the patriarch on its sanctions list because he is considered to be “an early ally” of Putin and because he is an outspoken supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The fact that he would end up on the European blacklist is part of the sixth sanction package that the ambassadors are currently considering. The oil embargo is also part of this.
The European heads of government reached a political agreement on this sixth package on Monday evening. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also agreed because he can continue to import Russian oil for the time being. But now Hungary seems to be imposing an additional requirement before formally approving the sanctions package.
Diplomats are still trying to convince Budapest to drop the resistance.
Also read: Detoured for Putin: why our country has been spared the Russian gas boycott for the time being (+)
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