Hungary Stalls Russia Sanctions Renewal With Orban’s Gas Demand

Hungary prolonged its blockage of the renewal of sanctions against Russia as Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of Russian gas to Europe.

EU envoys were unable to roll over the sanctions during a meeting on Friday as Budapest pointed to energy security concerns during the closed-door discussion, people familiar with the matter said. The issue will now be addressed by the bloc’s foreign affairs ministers on Monday during a scheduled meeting just days before the sanctions expire on Jan. 31.