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.

Long reputed to be Russia-friendly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has often railed against the continuation of the EU sanctions, claiming that they impose an intolerable burden on the Hungarian economy and provide no solution for the carnage in Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said he wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute his country has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc's upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

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.

The statement was read to EU ambassadors on Monday morning, ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss extending sanctions against Russia, which are renewed every six months. "Hungary is delaying the extension of the bloc’s sanctions against Russia,

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

The sanctions target trade, finance, energy, technology, industry, transport and luxury goods and include a ban on seaborne crude oil.

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,