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,

Hungary wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute it has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc’s upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

Before relenting, Budapest had threatened to allow billions of dollars to flow back to the Kremlin in a row over energy imports.

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

The European Union has agreed to prolong for 6 months a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine.

The European Commission will continue talks with Ukraine on natural gas supplies to Europe and will include Hungary and Slovakia in these talks, according to a statement shared by an EU diplomat and seen by Reuters on Monday.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of Russian gas to Europe and linked the issue to extending sanctions against Moscow.

It’s hard to find a more hypocritical political class in the wide world than that of the Brussels bureaucrats. They demand that we sever ourselves from Russian gas, meanwhile, more Russian LNG is coming to Western Europe than ever before,