Szijjártó ruled out Hungary's intention to support the extension of sanctions against Russia

Hungary will not support the six-month extension of individual sanctions against Russia at the meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) in Brussels on February 24. This was announced by the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, Péter Szijjártó.

He noted that the most important thing for the EU now is to give time for the Russian-American negotiations to start and be successful.

"We will not allow any decisions in Brussels that could cause difficulties in these negotiations. There is a possibility to wait [with a decision on extending sanctions] until March 15. We will not agree to an extension on Monday, and therefore there will be no EU decisions on this," Sijjarto told M1 TV on February 20.

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Prior to that, on February 19, he noted that the Hungarian government plans to discuss with the US leadership the lifting of economic sanctions against Russia, including in the field of energy. At the same time, the minister emphasized that the restrictions also harm the economy of Hungary itself. He noted that he will hold a working meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for this purpose.

On the same day it was reported that Hungary achieved an exemption from sanctions for oil and raw materials of the Russian Federation. Szijjártó emphasized that despite the fact that the EU sanctions against Russia failed and caused significant damage to the European economy, Brussels adopted a new sanctions package under pressure from Poland and other countries. However, important relaxations were envisioned for Hungary.