Hungary said that talks are a better option than imposing further sanctions on Russia.
Brussels:
A senior aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that the European Union should stop imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and instead insist on a ceasefire and resuming talks.
Speaking on the sidelines of a summit of EU leaders that gave Ukraine a candidate status to become a member of the EU, the aide said the more sanctions the EU adopted, the more they hurt the bloc. , while Russia survived.
“At the end of the day Europe will be on the losing side of this war because of the economic problems. Our recommendation would be that we should stop the approval process,” Balázs Orban, concerned prime minister, told Reuters. Interview.
Hungary is one of the most pro-Russian EU countries, heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil. Russia is also building a nuclear reactor for Hungary. Budapest had withheld the latest package of sanctions against Moscow that included a ban on Russian oil imports until it negotiated an exemption for itself.
“What we experience right now is that the more sanctions we accept, the worse shape we are in. And the Russians? Yes, it hurts them too, but they survive. And worse, They move into Ukraine,” said Balazs Orban.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the 27-nation EU has agreed to six packages of sanctions including asset freezes and visa restrictions on Russian oligarchs and officials, export controls, freezing of central bank assets , involves disconnecting banks. Restrictions on the import of Russian coal and oil to and from the Swift messaging system.
But some officials argue that isolated elites could live without some of their yachts or western villas, perhaps having already taken liquid assets outside the European Union and export controls could be circumvented by China and others. .
The freeze on Russia’s central bank reserves has been made less painful than the billions of dollars Russia gets every day for its oil and gas, which are still flowing into Europe, they say. Once the EU stops buying Russian oil next year, crude could be sold and shipped by tankers to China or India, some officials say.
Others argue that the sanctions are working, but it will take time for them to show their full impact on the Russian economy.
However, Orban said the EU should change its strategy.
“We reached a point when we realized that we have followed the strategy for four months, we have some achievements, but if it continues like this, with proper thinking, it will end badly for Europe. So we have to think about something. Talks, ceasefire, peace. Diplomacy. That’s our solution,” Orban said.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)