Hungary urges EU to consult Trump before renewing Russia sanctions

Hungary has yet to decide whether it will back the renewal of European Union sanctions on Russia, which are set to expire at the end of this month, according to country's EU minister János Bóka.

According to Bóka, the country believes the EU should wait to make a decision until after consulting with the incoming Trump administration, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“It is only natural that before we decide on the rollover for another six months, we ask the incoming US administration how they see the future of the sanctions regime,” Minister János Bóka told reporters in Brussels on January 16.

Bóka confirmed that Hungary’s position remains undecided. “We want to reserve our decision until we know how the US administration sees the future of the sanctions regime,” he added.

To recap, since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has implemented 15 rounds of sanctions against Russia and is currently working on a 16th package. The sanctions up for renewal cover a range of economic sectors and include the freezing of Russian central bank assets, Bóka said.

Renewing the sanctions requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states every six months.

Hungary, however, has maintained closer economic and political ties with Moscow compared to most other EU nations, which has at times complicated the bloc's unified stance.

By Aghakazim Guliyev