Hungary has not yet decided whether to support the extension of the European Union's sanctions against Russia, which is due to expire at the end of this month, and believes that the EU should make a decision on this issue only after consultations with the new US administration of Donald Trump, Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs János Boka said on Thursday, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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"I think it's only natural that before we decide to extend sanctions for another six months, we will ask the new US administration how they see the future of the sanctions regime," Minister Janos Boka told reporters in Brussels.
"There is no decision on Hungary's position yet," Boca added. - "We want to postpone the decision until we know how the US administration sees the future of the sanctions regime.
The EU has approved 15 packages of sanctions against Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is working on a 16th package of measures.
The sanctions, which will be extended, relate to various sectors of the economy and the freezing of assets of the Russian central bank, Boka said.
The EU extends the existing sanctions every six months, and this requires a unanimous decision of its 27 member states.
Hungary maintains closer economic and political relations with Moscow than other EU countries, the newspaper notes.