Hungarian PM Orbán Urges EU to Lift Russian Energy Sanctions

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on the European Union to suspend sanctions on Russian energy, citing rising fuel prices exacerbated by the war in Iran. In a video posted to social media on Monday, Orbán said he had sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging the 27-nation bloc to "review and suspend all sanctions on Russian energy across Europe."

Orbán convened an emergency government meeting to address the surging prices of gasoline and diesel in Hungary, just five weeks before a pivotal parliamentary election. The conflict in Iran, now in its second week, has disrupted critical oil and gas production and movement from the Persian Gulf, leading to global price surges.

Hungary's nationalist government has long opposed EU efforts to reduce Russian energy imports. Along with Slovakia, Hungary has maintained and even increased supplies of Russian oil and gas since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Both countries have received temporary exemptions from an EU policy prohibiting Russian oil imports.

However, oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine, have been halted since January 27. The Ukrainian government attributes this to a Russian drone strike damaging the pipeline's infrastructure. Orbán, however, has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up the oil supplies.

In response to the halt in oil supplies, Orbán vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia and is blocking a major €90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed. Orbán, who is trailing in most polls ahead of the April 12 election, has accused Zelenskyy of attempting to cause an energy crisis in Hungary to influence the election outcome.

Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have further escalated after Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian state bank employees and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash and gold on suspicion of money laundering. Ukraine has denied these allegations, insisting that the cash shipment was part of regular services between state banks.