Hungary has agreed to withdraw its veto and allow the renewal of sanctions imposed by the European Union on more than 2,400 individuals and legal entities, mostly from Russia, in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Time was running out quickly for the sanctions to be renewed, as the sanctions against Russian individuals and companies were due to expire at midnight on Saturday to Sunday.
The resolution came on Friday, less than 48 hours before the measures were due to expire, a risky standoff that put the bloc under extraordinary strain.
Sanctions must be renewed unanimously every six months, which means that one member state can scupper the whole process on its own.
Hungary's veto has been confirmed several times this week at ambassadors' meetings, with unsuccessful attempts on Monday, Wednesday and most recently on Thursday afternoon. Each failure caused the clock to tick.
Budapest has demanded that several names be removed from the blacklist, several diplomats told Euronews. The names were not disclosed, but Radio Free Europe previously reported the identities of seven oligarchs, including Mikhail Fridman and Dmitry Mazepin, and the Russian sports minister as part of the request.
After intense behind-the-scenes negotiations, a compromise was finally reached and four names were published instead of the eight that Hungary had requested. In addition, three persons who are deceased have been excluded.
As a result, an extension for another six months was approved on Friday morning. The sanctions were due to expire at midnight on Saturday.
The vetoes came in the same week that US and Ukrainian officials announced significant progress in their negotiations, easing tensions between the two sides.
Ukraine has said it is ready to implement a temporary 30-day ceasefire provided Russia reciprocates, while the US has agreed to immediately lift its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev, causing consternation in Brussels.
In response to this Vladimir Putin said he was in favour of the proposal but asked for clarification on certain "nuances" before committing to it. Putin strongly suggested that Ukraine should stop receiving Western arms for the duration of the ceasefire.
The European Commission has confirmed that it is already working on a 17th package of sanctions against Russia.
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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