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Hungary nonetheless has to “play its half” and resolve whether or not it needs to show unity with the European Union in sanctioning Russia because the bloc works on its sixth spherical of proposals, a senior EU diplomat mentioned on Friday.
Talking throughout a information briefing in Brussels to journalists, the diplomat mentioned the proposed sixth spherical of sanctions would come with an oil embargo with the aim of “having a long-lasting affect on Russia’s capability to earn cash and to inflict the heavy prices.”
The diplomat mentioned the proposal nonetheless wanted to be fine-tuned, as most European international locations “must section out from oil, and clearly there are life like financial issues that needs to be taken under consideration and the provision of options are clearly totally different from member state to member state.”
“So, we have to remedy … these issues someway,” the diplomat added.
The diplomat mentioned they understood that there’s an “existential oil dependency on Russia so far as Hungary is worried.”
“The fee is arising with proposals, and at a sure level, it’s a must to chunk the bullet, you understand, and see the place you need to be on this, and we hope Hungary can be extra forthcoming,” the diplomat mentioned.
Hungary has been provided “affordable proposals,” the diplomat mentioned, including that the nation must resolve the place it stands “in order that we are able to proceed to have this necessary EU unity and ship out the identical alerts to Russia that it ought to cease the conflict effort,” the diplomat mentioned.
“Negotiations are ongoing each day, together with the weekends. So I don’t know the place this can finish,” the diplomat mentioned.
On Wednesday, Hungarian Overseas Minister Péter Szijjártó mentioned Hungary will solely vote for EU sanctions on Russian oil if the bloc comes up with options to points it could begin.
“Now we have made it clear to the European Fee that we are able to solely vote for this proposal if Brussels presents an answer for the issues Brussels would create,” Szijjártó mentioned in a video posted on Fb Wednesday.
“We expect an answer not solely referring to the transformation of our refineries that will price a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars}, not solely referring to the capability improve of the oil pipeline [that runs] throughout Croatia to Hungary that will price a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} but in addition with regard to the way forward for the Hungarian financial system, as, like I mentioned earlier than, this present proposal is like ‘an atomic bomb’ for the Hungarian financial system,” Szijjártó continued.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy and Boglarka Kosztolanyi in London and Mayumi Maruyama in Tokyo contributed earlier reporting to this publish.