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.

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

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.

Hungary avoided a clash with the EU thanks to a last-minute deal that secures its access to Russian gas at a closed-door meeting on January 27. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has stated that Hungary agreed to extend sanctions against Russia after the EU provided it with 'commitments' related to energy security,

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,