Duma admits Brussels harassed EP deputy Volgin after his interview with Izvestia

Bulgarian member of the European Parliament (EP) Petar Volgin may be harassed in Brussels after his interview with Izvestiya in which he said that the crisis in Ukraine would logically end with the transfer of some territories to the Russian Federation and Kiev's refusal to join NATO. This opinion was shared on December 25 by Dmitry Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

Volgin'sinterview was published earlier in the day. The politician emphasized that the Ukrainian conflict can end only through peaceful negotiations, and Kiev's victory is impossible.

"Brussels has no legal grounds to penalize an MP for expressing his point of view. Whether measures will be taken outside of legal, outside of legal information harassment is possible," Novikov's Duma TV for Izvestia quoted Novikov as commenting.

He noted that "new voices" in the West regarding the situation in Ukraine appeared on the background of the example set by the prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia - Viktor Orban and Robert Fitzo. According to the deputy, they showed that even in today's conditions it is possible to defend national interests, regardless of Washington's positions. Moreover, now there is a change of leadership there - the statements of the future administration of the elected US President Donald Trump give such leaders as Orban and Fitzo hope that they will no longer be forced to invest in the Ukrainian conflict.

Before that, on December 22, Slovak member of the European Parliament Luboš Blaga called Fico's visit to Moscow, which took place on the same day, a slap in the face for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired in May). He emphasized that the people of Slovakia support Russia and do not consider this state an enemy state.

Before that, on December 19, Bloomberg reported that Hungary refused the EU's request to extend sanctions against Russia before US President-elect Trump officially takes office. Then, on Dec. 21, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban called for a review of sanctions against Russia that are "hampering Europe's development."

Meanwhile, on November 15, Orban said that Europe's economic path is comparable to suicide. Thus, the result of the conflict in Ukraine, according to the politician, are the problems with the Hungarian economy. In his opinion, the imposition of sanctions against Russia, imposed by Brussels, was wrong.

Western countries tightened sanctions pressure on Russia in connection with the special operation to protect Donbas. The decision to launch it was announced on February 24, 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.