Text/Dongfeng
On June 1, local time, Hungary further postponed and "vetoed" the EU sanctions against Russia, saying that Europe could not blacklist Russian Orthodox Bishop Kirill. EU diplomats said it was surprising that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reached an agreement with EU leaders at Monday's summit on sanctions against Russia, without mentioning Kirill. Not only that, but Orbán had earlier insisted on exemptions for Hungary's oil imports, thus blocking EU sanctions.
According to an internal EU document seen by EU Watch in May, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and the whole of Russia — Vladimir Gandayev, 75, from St. Petersburg — was listed for calling Russia's war against Ukraine an "act of religious cleansing" and praying for Russian soldiers in his sermons.
Kirill (middle)
Kirill is a symbolic part of the EU's sanctions package, and the oil embargo against Russia will cost the Kremlin hundreds of billions of euros a year. Next, intra-EU talks will continue on Thursday, but diplomats say the new delay, regardless of whether Kirill ends up on the EU list, has "embarrassed" Europe and further worsened relations with Hungary.
An EU diplomat said, "The French ambassador [who presided over Wednesday's meeting] insisted that it was too late to introduce such changes in the process." Another diplomat said the meeting dragged on for hours and the atmosphere became "intense." A third EU diplomat said, "They (Hungary) suddenly raised [arguments against Kirill] without giving any real reasons." ”
A fourth EU diplomat added, "You give them an inch, they ask for a yard, and Orbán was encouraged by his oil deal," referring to Hungary's lifting of the oil embargo. The diplomat angrily said, "It's time for Europe to say: Enough!"
Some analysts said that Orbán has a friendly historical relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also faces EU sanctions for abusing the rule of law in Hungary. In Hungary, billions of euros of European funding to Budapest were frozen.
The upcoming EU sanctions will also hit Russia's main banking and television channels, according to internal EU documents. They will impose visa bans and asset freezes on the family of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and dozens of Russian military commanders, and mention in the EU document 46 "sexual assaults" and "tortures" by Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
Crucially, the plan includes a decision to prohibit the purchase of all seaborne oil and refined products from Russia for 6 to 8 months after the program becomes law. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who relies on Russian oil, believes the ban will damage the country's economy and has therefore gained independent rights to pipeline transportation.
In response to the EU's move to impose further sanctions on Russia, Russia said it was taking action to limit the damage caused by the oil ban because of a decline in its other key energy exports — natural gas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "sanctions will have a negative impact on Europe, the United States and the global energy market as a whole." ”
Peskov also added that "repositioning" is underway to find alternatives to oil that is no longer sold to Europe. "These are purposeful, systematic actions that will allow us to minimize negative consequences," he said. ”
Currently, EU countries are reducing their dependence on Russian energy, but there are differences over the implementation of the gas embargo, as some member states rely heavily on Russia's energy supplies. And weeks of delays on the sixth round of sanctions have shaken eu solidarity over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, after five waves of unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow.