Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to obstruct the EU’s sanctions on Russia if Ukraine does not resume gas transits, drawing a stark warning from Polish counterpart Donald Tusk.
The EU has imposed 15 rounds of economic penalties on Russia since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022. These sanctions, which include freezing Moscow’s sovereign assets and severing trade and energy links, must be renewed every six months with unanimous consent from all 27 member states.
Earlier this week, Orban threatened to “pull the handbrake” on the renewal of these sanctions if Ukraine does not restart a transit deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom. Tusk responded sternly via X: “If Viktor Orban really blocks European sanctions at a key moment for the war… it’ll be absolutely clear that he is playing in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s team, not in ours.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto retorted on Facebook, accusing Tusk of acting as an agent for billionaire liberal financier George Soros: “We do not want to continue paying the price for other people’s wars and will not allow anyone to endanger the security of our energy supply, because Hungary comes first for us.”
Orban is not alone in his discontent. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has also expressed anger at Ukraine’s decision to stop gas transit, vowing to veto future EU aid to Kiev and potentially halt electricity supplies and cut humanitarian aid deliveries.
Since the conflict’s outset, Orban has advocated for a diplomatic resolution, accusing fellow EU leaders of prolonging bloodshed through financial support.