“Sanctions, which expire on January 31, decided to extend them for another six months after Hungary withdrew its objections, the correspondent of Radio Svoboda reports.”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“This will continue to deprive Moscow of income to finance the war. Russia must pay for the damage it is causing,” Kallas wrote on the X social network.
The sanctions, which expire on January 31, were decided to be extended for another six months after Hungary withdrew its objections, RFE/RL European correspondent Rikard Yuzvyak reports.
Hungary agreed to support the extension of sanctions after the Committee of Permanent Representatives of EU Member States, i.e. ambassadors (COREPER), agreed on steps to support the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia, including negotiations with Ukraine on the transit of energy carriers, an EU official told Radio Svoboda. is aware of the progress of the negotiations, but is not authorized to give comments to the media.
It is about the commitment of the European Commission to continue negotiations with Ukraine to restore and stabilize its energy infrastructure, as well as to ensure uninterrupted transit of energy carriers through Ukrainian pipelines to the EU. Hungary and Slovakia should be included in the negotiations.
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia are protesting against Ukraine’s refusal to renew the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian pipelines starting in 2025.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated the other day that Ukraine is ready to quickly restore the transit of natural gas through its territory for the countries of Eastern Europe, but not Russia, but Azerbaijan.
At the same time, analysts warn that given the small gas production in Azerbaijan and the country’s import of energy carriers from Russia, this may mean that Russian gas will enter the EU under the guise of Azerbaijani gas.
On January 24, ambassadors of EU member states failed to agree on the extension of European sanctions against Russia at a meeting in Brussels. The decision was blocked by Hungary, despite the fact that there was a week left until the end of the sanctions. If the EU did not have time to agree on a decision by January 31, the legality of the freezing of Russian sovereign assets would be in question.